


Bonds of Blood and Soul

by Turntech-carcino (Themortalhalfbloodgames)



Category: Homestuck, MS Paint Adventures
Genre: Aftermath of Violence, Alternative Universe - Demons & Hunters, Fluff, Minor Character Death, Multi, Not your typical demonstuck, Smut, Violence, War, use of magic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-10
Updated: 2016-09-20
Packaged: 2018-05-19 12:53:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 23
Words: 77,335
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5968054
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Themortalhalfbloodgames/pseuds/Turntech-carcino
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's the year 2X38 and Karkat Vantas is a master demon hunter. He has finally caught up to rogue demon, Dave Strider. He plans to end this tonight. Dave has other plans. They live in a society that knows about the existence of Demons, dark magic and those who try to maintain order. When things start to get out of hand and a war threatens to break, they'll be both thrown into the middle of it all and Karkat will have no other choice but to take up a role he never wanted in the first place.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue: One mans journal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You encounter a young mans journal...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to try out this new twist on demonstuck aus. Heavily inspired by TMI and HoN series. This first chapter is going to be an introduction to some concepts I will be using through out the fic and to get to know the mains characters background.

**Saturday, August 6th 2X23**

Your name is Karkat Vantas and today your father has told you you will finally be attending the institute. You were concerned that you might have to go to regular school like your human friends and actually _socialize_ with a bunch of demons. 

It seems your time following your dad to the HQ actually paid off and you actually learned some shit at that place. You weren’t really sure you’d pass your test in front of the assembly but you guess you did? What the fuck ever, the point is you are finally going to be a part of the hunters order. Well, not yet but your training has finally started. 

You’re part of the master race of hunters, those descendants from the _prima race_ or “first hunters.” The first hunters were the first demon slayers to ever acquire the ability to control an aspect, an ability they learned from the first demons themselves. Your families line descends from the prima race (or that is what your father has told you). In all honesty, you’re not even sure if the prima race ever existed. You learned in school that the only way for a human to become a hunter is by being poisoned by an elder demon and surviving a horrible pain where your blood turns into a thick substance in your veins and is later out by the demons venom or until it binds to your own blood. The process is described as agonizingly painful and a complete bitch. And even after all o that crap, one is not assured to survive the process. What the hell?

You send a silent thank you to the first ever Vantas that decided that getting demon poison injected in his body was a great way to spend his weekend.

**Wednesday, August 24th 2X23**

Kanaya isn’t in your classes. Apparently she’s going to be in the keeper's training, those who are in charge of establishing connections in between hunter partners and demon tracking. They’re like your source of information or that’s what Kanaya explained… You’re kind of pissed she isn’t asking for a change, you know she’s capable of being a hunter but she says Porrim has advised her to take up the keeper training. 

You saw your brother leave for a mission with Damara today. He seemed nervous and Damara kept bugging him about something but he told her to stop annoying him. You asked later about it as well be he told you he was fine.

**Tuesday, September 20th 2X23**

Kanaya was moved back to your class. She discovered she’s a space manipulator so the teachers and council members decided she was much better off as a hunter. Only master hunters can manipulate aspects. Your family is known for the mastery over blood aspects. It comes in handy when you want to destroy a demon clans bonds and alliances. It helps you link up better with your partner. Your father says you should be careful because as easy as you can destroy a clans kin bonds it’s easy for you to establish your own bond with a demon but, why in the world would you ever want to be bounded to a demon?

**Thursday, October 7th 2X23**

Damara and Kankri had a fight in the rumpus block. Something about a lesser demon being obsessed with your brother. He told Damara to mind her own fucking business and to leave him alone. You patted his back.

**Monday, November 8th 2X23**

You’re pretty sure your brother has fucking bound himself to a demon. You saw his arm before he pulled his sweater on and he had some sort of design on it. Like those tattoos you’ve read about.  
You know that if a hunter binds his soul to the essence of a demon they both acquire some weird fucking ink on their body. A sign of the “kinder sprits.” Assholes who’ve decided to form some weird fucked up relationship with lesser demons. Or you hope it’s a lesser demon. If you find out that he’s bound himself with a greater demon and formed a kinder matesprit you’re gonna fucking kick his ass. He’s crazy for trying to actually have something with a thing like that. 

You’re going to tell him to stop fucking around and to stick to his training. He’s going to upset your dad.

[ ](http://es.tinypic.com?ref=5vyexf)

****

**Saturday, January 15th 2X24**

Kankri is still going around with that asshole. You found him talking to him on one of your scourging missions with Kanaya and Terezi. You asked them to keep it quiet, you don’t need any of the order members to find out.

Or your dad.

**Tuesday, June 12th 2X24**

It’s your birthday today. Your dad gave you a pair of sickles for your combat training next year. He also gave you a really cool chain with your families symbol. Kankri gave you a protection bandanna, it’s supposed to help you stay hidden. You’re still mad at him for lying to you but you can’t hold it against him. You guess he really cares for that dickmuncher. Kanaya bought you one of your favorite movies and Terezi gave you a book on the Uprising wars. 

You might actually go out today. It’s been a long time since you’ve done something normal. You haven’t seen Gamzee or Nepeta in some months ever since you started training but you guess those are small sacrifices to make in order to become a hunter.

You saw Roxy bake you a cake that had a huge crab iced on it and 36 candles. She always fills the cake up with the exact amount of candles equal to your age. You wonder what she’s going to do once you turn 80. You told Sollux you hope you die before she gets to fill a cake up with 80 candles. He punched your arm and told you that even though demon hunters live very long life spans, it’s not funny to joke about death. He says you should treat everyday like your last. Fucking asshole is such a downer.

[ ](http://es.tinypic.com?ref=16i7jmc)

**Monday, September 21th 2X26**

Your father has announced his retirement from the order. He’s made some crazy statement about wanting to fight for equality and justice between humans, demons and hunters. He says they deserve our respect as much as we deserve theirs. He told the elders that the uprising would repeat itself if we all kept committing the same mistakes our ancestors made.

He said he can’t live in a world where his son is looked down upon for having a relationship with a demon. You thought Kankri had ended it with that son of a donkey. Both of your family member lied to you. 

Your father was asked to leave your unit. He offered you a place at his side. 

You said no. 

You have no father.

**Thursday, November 12th 2X26**

Kankri left the union.

**Sunday, July 29th 2X33**

You have graduated today. You were assigned to the third highest union with Kanaya, Roxy and Terezi. You also got this kid to be your trainee. He said he was sort of like your padawan from that stupid Star Wars movie. You told him to shut the fuck up and to never talk to you again. 

He blew your shirt off. Asshole.

Seems your HQ, the base of your unity, is in Japan. You’re the leader of your team but Damara and Porrim are the leaders of your whole union. You fly to Japan tomorrow. You leave behind all of your family ties and your past.

**Monday, March 7th 2X35**

You have met a goddamn higher demon clan. They’re being educated by an elder guardian so Porrim is not so worried about them even though two of the demons have been involved in some rumpus shit fests.  
They’re all kin siblings; two dudes and a girl. One of the guys has a kin mate, some sort of lesser demon that has a relationship with the greater one. Shenanigans. 

The young one, the red-eyed time demon, he is a fucking asshole. He has followed you around for so much but has yet to do anything to you so Damara has told you to not engage him in combat. You are so hoping for him to fuck up. Maybe you’ll be able to send him to the medium, that new demon dimensional prison the cult has created. 

You might not be so lucky.

**Wednesday,May 17th 2X35**

You are going to fucking destroy the Strider brothers if it’s the last thing you do.

 

_There are no more entries. The end of the journal has some names scribbled on them:_

[ ](http://es.tinypic.com?ref=2mxfok8)

_A photograph of two young boys with auburn hair and a man with black locks and a beard is tucked into the side of a page. It’s ripped in half._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter we start in the "present" year.


	2. Red-eyed Rendezvous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some how, you had a feeling things were going to end up like this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ironically, I wrote this chapter before the prologue.

The loud sounds of your boots hitting the ground as you run echo through the alleyway. Your eyes flicker from one side to the other, head turning at the slightest sound. You felt your overcoat flutter behind yourself as you keep running. The sickle in your hand glowed red as your target's eyes.

You halt to a stop when you turn the corner.

Dead end.

“This is like Spain all over again.” You say as you look around the ally.

“You and I remember Spain _very_ differently.” He says from above you somewhere.

“Did you just quote the Avengers you absolute frog fucker?” You roll your eyes as the voice laughs.

“Is this your plan, Strider? Make me follow you to this stupid alley only for you to lead me to a dead end? Clever.” You call out into the darkness where you knew the demon was hiding.

“I have my moments, baby. I'm flattered, you actually decided to follow me this time.” The voice answered from nowhere in particular.

“Don’t get any ideas you piece of trash. I'm tired of you chasing me around like some stupid fucker. I've chased assholes like you for a while but I've never been in reversed role situation. What the hell is your game, Strider?” You raise your weapon, alert to any sudden movements.

“What makes you think I _have_ a game? Maybe I brought you here to end this cat and mouse chase once and for all.”

“Unlikely. You would've already tried to kill me. Come on dickface, step into the light where I can fucking see you.” You pull out your other sickle and hold them over your chest in a defensive stance.

“You want me to come out so you can fight with me, pretend to get injured and then run away even though we both know you could easily kill me before leaving to fix yourself. You're an expert at demon hunting, Vantas. A god fucking _master_ hunter. You think I don't know you could kill me? So the real question is, why haven't you?” He appears in front of you. His red eyes glowing through those dark shades. A smile playing on his lips while he looks you up and down. 

“Come on, Vantas. Tell the truth. I wanna hear it. Why do you keep letting me go? Why won't you end me? We both know you can. Those stupid marks on your skin mean something.” His eyes flickered to the ink on the exposed part of your arm that was covered in different symbols. The symbols of defeated demons. 

“I don't know what the fuck you're talking about, Strider. I've done what any sane hunter would do, leave before my injuries got worse. Now quit flapping your jaw so we can start this battle. My arm is itching to have your little symbol inked into my skin.” You smile as the demon curls his lips.

“Aw, you want something to remember me by, how sweet.” He smiles and his sharp teeth poke out.

“Shut the fuck up. Come on, let's do this.” You raise your weapons and Dave turns his back on you. Your eyes widen. Never in all of your years as a demon hunter had one of those creatures turned their back on you. They weren't stupid enough to try it.

“Nah, not feeling up to it, champ. Let's do this some other day.” He waves his hand as he starts to walk away.

“Get back here you piece of shit!” You walk behind him and as you’re about to take a swing at him, Dave turns around and grabs you by the wrists, stopping your attack.

“And here I was beginning to think you didn't care.” He smirks.

“I don't know what the fuck you're on about I don't care about you, how could I ever care about a low life like you?” You try to struggle out of his grasp 

“Oh, but you do! If not, why are you chasing me all the time. Come on Karkat what are you trying to achieve?” He lets go of your wrist and you stumble back. You can feel a knot in your throat as you search for an excuse.

“Look Strider, I don't know what type of fucked up, backwards mind play you're trying to pin on me but it's not gonna work. My purpose is to hunt you and send your ass into the medium for all your goddamn fuckeryso let's just get this over with and finish this shit.” You pull out your second sickle and he snorts at you. 

“I thought I told you I didn't want to fight you.” He turns back away from you and starts walking down the alley way. Your mouth hangs open, you can't believe he's leaving you like this! What type of fucking demon is he anyway? Refusing to fight you. It's nonsense!

“Come back here you lousy sack of shit! Hey I'm talking to you you!” You run and leap towards him. You feel your movements slow down and you know he’ll have enough time to escape your grasp. You see him turn on his heel, grab your forearms and slam you against the ally wall. 

“Fancy meeting you again.” He grins and for some stupid reason you feel your face warm up. You, Karkat Vantas, just blushed like a stupid teenage boy. His shades slide down the bridge of his nose and you can see his red glowing eyes locked on your lips. It makes you shudder and you hope to god he doesn’t notice. 

“Mmm. I forgot you always smelled so… delicious.” And then he fucking nuzzles your neck and takes in a deep breath.

“Get the fuck off you atrocious waste of space, let me go!” You try to shake yourself loose but he won’t move. You feel your heart race because you know this sick fucker could kill you in any moment. He’s so close to your jugular, you know that if wanted to he could rip your throat open with his stupid fangs and get this over with. But he wasn’t doing anything.

“I can almost hear the little gears in your head turning while you try to figure this out by yourself. Did our little encounter in India not teach you shit, Vantas?” He says while he forces your hands to your sides. You grunt and try to pull away but he keeps you in place.

“I don’t know what the fuck you’re going on about. I don’t even remember what happened in India. I lost to much blood and fell unconscious. If it hadn’t been for Egbert I would have-”

“No, fuck that lie. I was the one who helped you, who found a safe place for you! I was the one who risked his fucking life to get you back to your shitty little band of misfits. I took a risk _for you_. Don’t start with your bullshit again. You remember what happened. You know.” He let’s go of your wrists and takes a step back waiting for you to make a move but you are frozen in place.

Of course you remember what happened. You tried so hard to forget but you couldn’t. You made a fool of yourself, if the others had known… You’re sure that Kanaya and Roxy don’t believe your bullshit about passing out and magically appearing close to the HQ but they never questioned your story.

How would they react if they knew the same demon that had landed you in that country was the same one who tried to save you from his brother. Who had fled his own clan because he knew he would get culled for what he did. Aiding the enemy was unheard of for those of his kind.  
You remember you were puzzled as to why he had done what he did. In your weakest moment he was there for you. You had asked him why and he simply gave you that douche grin and told you that there was no pride in defeating your enemy while they were bleeding to death.  
He carried you in the rain towards the city limits where your HQ was located. He brushed your hair out of the way before kissing you. You felt his breath hot and humid on your lips. You gasped and let out an involuntary sigh. You knew this was wrong but deep down you knew you had wanted to do this for months. He had tasted like stupid cherry coke and you had licked his lips in hopes of feeling the flavor on your tongue. You had felt him smile and sigh into your mouth and you couldn’t help it, you pulled him closer tasting the sweet flavor on his lips, relishing the way his fangs felt when you pressed your tongue against him and… you passed out.

You had woken up to John shaking your shoulder and repeating your name over and over. He took you back to the base HQ and they had treated your wounds. So many questions… 

“This was a fuckin’ mistake. I should’ve just let them…” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. You feel your surroundings get heavy again and finally understand why. He’s a demon that specializes in time control, he was manipulating time to his favor. You force yourself to move or at least try to say something but your throat feels dry.

“No.” You manage to get out after what felt like minutes, which thanks to this fuckers ability, probably _were_ several minutes.

“What did you say? Did you just say _no_?” He shakes his head incredulous and you feel the weight fly off your shoulders as time assumes its normal pace.

“Yes, that’s what I said. I don’t remember.” You lie. You can’t even look him in the eyes.

“Fuck. That.” He spits out. “You’re telling me a blood slayer can’t remember something that involves _feelings_? How stupid do you think I am? Look at me, Karkat!” He screams and your head snaps up to meet his eyes. They’re bright red, when did he take his shades off? You know this is wrong. You’ve never had a conversation with a demon much less have a feelings talk with one of them.

“I’m already with someone.” You mutter another a lie and he rolls his eyes.

“The wind slayer? Don’t make me laugh. I know you have no feelings for him.”

“How the fuck would you know? You’re a time demon, not a mind demon. And so what if I don’t have feelings for him, do you think I would even remotely have a fraction of a sentiment for something like you?” You try to say it in the angriest tone you can muster but it just comes out in a tired tone. 

He gives you a sad smile and turns on his heel again, out of the alleyway. Without him close to you, you can feel the cold chill your skin. You can’t explain it but suddenly you are longing his contact. If this feeling was strange to you, your next movements are all but a mystery.

You push off the wall and sprint in his direction. How did the fucker move so fast? 

“Strider.” You call out but he waves his hand in the air without turning. You know he’s about to faze into the night and the panic that you feel in your chest makes you act on an impulse.

“DAVE.” You see him freeze in his place. 

“What did you just call me?” He says with his back turned to you.

“I called you by your name. That is your name, isn’t it?” You fucking know it’s his name.

“You’ve never used my name. You don’t use anyone’s name.” 

“Great you’re going to make a huge shitclustered deal about it? Yes, I called you by your fucking name don’t put so much-” He’s suddenly at your side and you grip your sickle out of habit.

“So jumpy.” You’re about to retort but he crushes his mouth to yours and your retort just dissipates. 

His arms go around your waist and you don’t know how but yours end up around his neck and you are suddenly really aware of how much you’ve wanted to do this. His lips feel oddly warm and so much better than the last time. Granted, last time you were on the verge of death but it was still nice, this time it’s great. You feel his body pressed firmly to yours, his hands find their way through your cloak and jacket and you can feel his fingers press into the base of your spine. You carefully press the tip of your tongue to his lips and he gives you free access to his mouth. His fangs tug slightly on your lips without breaking skin but it still makes you shiver.  
You both part for air after a while but he slides his nose against your jaw and then to your neck and you’re hyperaware of his fangs now.

“Don’t move, I won’t hurt you.” He pants against the skin of your throat. You can’t say why but you believe him when he says he won’t hurt you. He slowly parts his lips and nibbles at the skin and you let out a small groan.

“Damn, you need to do that again.” He whispers as he sucks a little and fuck it, you’re already this exposed to the demon, why not just throw all caution to the wind? You groan again and you can feel his smile. Goddamn this feels so-

 _Karkat, where are you? Are you ok?_ You can feel the connection to your best friend enter your brain and your eyes snap open.

“Fuck, Dave.” You push slightly against his shoulders but he goes back to kissing you so you push the voice aside.

 _Karkat, are you there? I’m coming for you!_ the voice enters your mind and you try to clear your thoughts.

“Dave, come on…”

“Mmm… Karkat.” Dave whispers as he bites your lip once again. You almost give in once again but the mental image of your friend coming to find you stops you.

“They’re coming, let go you fucktard.” You push his shoulders once again and this time he actually backs off.

“Dammit. Your group of friends have lousy timing. I could slow them down if I wanted to…” He steps towards you and puts his fingers through the belt loops of your pants.

“No, stop. They’ll know something is wrong if you slow time down.”

“So if they didn't throw a tantrum, you’d be totally OK with it?” He smirks and you have the urge to punch him.

“Just because I fucking kissed you doesn’t mean I won’t knock that stupid infuriating grin off your smug face. I need to go, now.” You turn to leave but he grips your wrist and pulls you back to his side. He kisses you slowly and then lets go of you.

“What the hell was that for? A parting kiss for your beloved?” You smirk and he tips his head to the side.

“Have fun explaining that hickey, baby. See you in a while?” And the fucking asshole fades into the night leaving you there in the cold.

You pull out a knife and look at yourself on it’s reflective surface and let out a curse. Fucking hell, how are you going to explain this to everyone? You pull out the red bandana your brother gave you sometime ago and tie it around your neck. You haven’t worn it since your fight with him but at least your group will question the bandana and not the mark.

“Karkat! Where the heck have you been? You didn’t answer and then I felt the connection get blocked so I got worried.” You turn to see Kanaya with her sister Porrim behind you.

“Kanaya, Porrim. I’m sorry I made you come all this way looking for me. I’m fine, I just got caught up chasing some minor demons. I lost my way back and since I didn’t bother taking a locater-”

“Karkat, that was very reckless of you! What would have happened if you were to have gotten hurt?” Porrim shakes her head and you feel the need to apologize and say _sorry, mom_ so she’ll stop giving you that disappointed parent look.

“I was fine, just a few scratches, nothing to lose your fucking heads over. Come on let’s go I’m fucking starving.” You push them towards the way they came from and usher them to move.

You all walk back in silence making small talk about the cities architecture till Porrim asks you about the scarf.

“Karkat are you wearing Kanny’s scarf?” She look down at the red cloth you have wrapped around your neck and you feel self conscious.

“Yeah, so what? Just because I don’t speak to the asshole doesn’t mean I can’t use this piece of clothing to shield myself from the cold. And it’s a _bandana_ , Porrim. I’d figure you of all people would know the difference between a scarf and a bandana.” She let’s out a “hmph” and you figure that the questions are over so you smirk , not before catching Kanaya giving you a quizzical gaze. Dammit. You figure you ought to make up a better lie for when she questions you later.

When you arrive to the institute you let out a breath you didn’t know you were holding. You push through the double doors and walk inside where you know Roxy or Jade will start asking about the mission.

Porrim turns towards the dorm rooms presumably to go talk to your stupid brother about how you “might” be getting over your fight. Ha, fat chance you’ll be getting over that anytime soon.

“Karkat, I think we should talk about-”

“Karkat! How was the reconnaissance mission? You weren’t answering Ms. Maryam over here and then we noticed you failed to check out a locater _again_ so we were worried you might have gotten hurt!” Roxy bounces on the balls of her feet in front of you.

“Look, Lalonde. I’ve been out for at least 18 hours by myself. I’m hungry, I’m tired and I need to take a piss so can we do this fuckin’ status update late?” You don’t wait for her to answer, you just move past her and towards your dorm. Kanaya follows behind you because you know she’s going to question the fuck out of you. You consider telling her to fuck off for the time being but you know that you’re just putting it off for a while so might as well get it over with.

“Come on, Maryam. Ask away.” You sigh when you push open the door to your temporary room. It’s filled with what you can usually manage to take with you on foreign missions; a couple of books, movies, weapons, your laptop and music reproducer as well as some earphones. Your closet is filled up with a scarce variety of what the Maryam’s call “regular clothing” and a shitton of hunting appropriate outfits. Some gear is thrown around the floor and the side table has some trinkets you carry around for personal value. The room is rather large and your scarce amount of items makes it look even larger. Jade has told you it’s fine to carry more of your belongings but you don’t see the point if you’re going to go back to your local institute after a few months. The rooms all come equipped with a small television, a bookcase, a bed and a desk with a rolling office chair. You all have to share communal bathrooms and have meals at a dining hall.

You tug your cloak off and throw it to the side of the room not really caring where it lands. You tug off your hunting boots and slip into a pair of black converse. (What? They’re comfortable!) You also discard your gloves and your weapon belt on top of your desk. Moving back to the bed you flop onto it and let out a sigh. You feel the bed dip where Kanaya sits to the side.

“What happened?” She asks in a hushed tone. You run your hand through your hair and sigh. Where to start? What to tell her....

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny enough, I have chapters 3, 5 and 6 ready. I just have to finish writing up the chapters in between, heh.


	3. Midnight Outings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maybe if Kanaya stopped treating you like a 20 year old wiggler, you might actually pay attention to her scoldings. Who are you kidding, of course you wouldn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know for how long I will keep with the regular almost-daily updates so let's just all enjoy it while they last.

Your filling your plate with more spaghetti as Kanaya follows you close by. She hasn’t said a word since you both walked into the kitchen and that, for some reason, is starting to fucking annoy you.

“You know that thing Porrim used to do to my brother where she would stand beside him and judge him silently for all his godawful decisions? You're doing exactly that and you better fucking quit it.” You tell her as you settle at the end of a long dining table. She takes a seat next to you and folds her hands over the tables judging you in silence. Or that's what it feels like.

“Cut the crap, Kan. If I want someone to judge me for no good reason I can stand in front of my mirror while a fuck myself with a pointy object.” You take a bite out of your meal and sigh. It still taste like _his_ recipe. God dammit you fucking hate Italian night.

“You know, I once read that people who are trying to hide something are the ones who act guilty even though no one has accused them of anything. I believe paranoia is involved in this whole ordeal.”

“I didn’t do fuck so I don’t know what you’re trying to say. May I remind you that _you’re_ the one who wanted to ask me a bunch of useless stupid questions so go ahead, knock yourself out.” You gesture for her to continue and she rolls her eyes.

“You seem pretty dirty and scruffy but you have not one single scratch, I don’t know if I should congratulate you or suspect your whereabouts. Karkat darling, you didn’t make us fly all the way back to America just to visit your brother, did you?” She asks and you almost let out a sigh of relief. You thought for a moment she might have known something.

“No, why the fuck would I go see his stupid ass? He’s the one who left the unit, not me. He left it for that bulge fondling assmunch and that was _his_ decision. I don’t hold it against him, to each their own I guess but we are fucking hunters. It’s a goddamn disgrace that he left the whole fucking union for the same fuckers we slay and bring to justice.”

“Relationships between mortals and demons occur every day, Karkat. I don’t see why this has to be any different. You’re just as thick headed as the rest of the order.” She hands you a napkin and frowns at you.

“What. The. Fuck. Ever. The point is, I didn't see him. I haven't seen him in years, why would I go back to see him today?”

“I have no clue, Karkat. I rarely see the point in many of your actions yet I go along with them. I am a natural follower.” She shrugs and you raise an eyebrow at her.

“Sarcasm?”

“I am getting so much better at it, yes.” She nods and you pat her hand.

“No you aren't.”

“I know dear.”

You're about to ask her if she was going to have something to eat as well when you felt your phone vibrate in your hoodie.

Your old messaging system has a new notification. You haven't switched to the new one everyone has because you just don't see the point. Trollian is just as good as pesterchum.

turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering  carcinoGeneticist [CG]

TG: dude i cant believe you still use trollian its at least 20 years old

TG: please tell me this isnt you so i can sigh in relief knowing im not trying to date an outdated nerd

CG: WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH TROLLIAN? IT’S STILL EFFICIENT SO I DON’T SEE THE POINT IN CHANGING TO THAT OTHER STUPID SERVICE.

TG: whoa ok fine no need to shout sir

CG: I’M NOT SHOUTING, MY STUPID ASSHOLE OF A FRIEND HACKED MY ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND SET THE KEYBOARDS TO PERMANENT CAPS LOCK.

TG: now that is a great idea

TG: i should get my bro to do that to rose

TG: hell knows shell be pissed

CG: WHO THE FUCK IS ROSE?

TG: doesnt matter

TG: you know when i texted you i didnt think youd answer

CG: WHAT THE FUCK GAVE YOU THAT IDEA? HOW DID YOU EVEN GET MY NUMBER?

YG: uhh

CG: FORGET IT, I DON'T EVEN WANT TO KNOW. 

CG: WHY DO THINK I WOULDN'T HAVE ANSWERED?

YG: oh gee lemme think oh yeah

TG: you hate me

CG: YES I CAN SEE WHY THAT MIGHT BE MISLEADING.

CG: ALTHOUGH IF I REMEMBER CORRECTLY, I FUCKING MADE OUT WITH YOU IN A CREEPY ALLEYWAY. I THINK *THAT* SHOULD HAVE CLUED YOU IN.

TG: on what

CG: COME ON, STRIDER. DON’T TELL ME YOU’RE ALL BEAUTY AND NO BRAINS.

TG: would that be a problem because i dont see the problem

TG: you could be the brains and brawn and I could just be your sexy arm candy

CG: YOU’RE PATHETIC.

TG: rude much

TG: so yeah

TG: can you leave your little tree house for a moment

TG: or are you like not allowed

TG: whens your curfew

CG: FUCK OFF. WHY DO YOU WANT ME TO GO OUT

TG: i thought that was obvious

CG: LET ME DEMONSTRATE HOW UN-FUCKING OBVIOUS IT IS BY TYPING THE APPROPRIATE NUMBER OF INCONCLUSIVE IDEA DOTS.

CG: “...” 

TG: wow jfc youre going to make me say it

CG: SAY WHAT? I HONESTLY HAVE NO CLUE WHAT THE FUCK YOU’RE WHINING ABOUT!

TG: goddamit

TG: i want to see you asshole

CG: OH.

CG: WELL THAT DEFINITELY WASN’T WHAT I WAS EXPECTING.

TG: would you please save me from my incredibly lame attempt on being smooth and idk

TG: just come outside you fucker

CG: FINE.

CG: YOU NEED TO WORK ON YOUR ROMANCE SKILLS.

TG: shut the fuck up

turntechGodhead [TG] ceased trolling  carcinoGeneticist [CG]

CG: RUDE MUCH?

You tuck your phone back into your pocket and lift your face to look at Kanaya who's frowning at you. Whoops.

“You're smiling.” She states.

“No I'm not.” Yes you are.

“Alright, fine. Keep me out of the loop. I just hope whoever you were speaking to had more of your attention than I did.” You roll your eyes at her dramatic tone and lift yourself from your seat.

“I’ll tell you when I'm sure of what I'm doing. Now excuse me but I have to go out for a minute.” You pick your tray up and head to the plastic container that says **THROW YOUR SHIT IN HERE**. It use to say **throw your trash in here** but you and Jade scribbled over it to make it funnier.

“Where, pray tell, are you going to go right now? You just go back from a mission.” She looks at you curiously and you shrug.

“I forgot my candy supplies were running low. I need to fill it back up.” You walk out of the dining hall with Kanaya on your heels. You head back to your room and grab your wallet, your ID card and your scarf.

“Karkat this is ridiculous, it's three in the bloody morning. Can it not wait until morning?” She folds her arms and you grunt.

“Kanaya I'm not a kid. I can go out whenever I want to. Contrary to popular belief, the doors _do_ open on both sides. You're free to come with me if you want.” You know she'll say no. She doesn't seem to like going out for reasons she considers too idiotic.

“I rather not. Just don't take long. As said, it's late.” 

“Alright mom, jeez.” You peck her cheek and she slaps your arm. “Later Kan-mom-ya.” You smile at her and run down the hall.

__________________________________________________________________________________ 

“Evenin’ Karkat. Ain’t it a bit late for you to be venturin’ out there all by yerself? Ya know this city is crawlin’ in those lousy shits at this time.”

“Hello creepy door man who has been here since my first day." You smirk as he rolls his eyes at you.

Spades, since when do you give a flying fuck as to where I’m going?” You swipe your ID card on the doorways scanner and it flashes green.

“Miss Maryam notified me of yer outin' and said to keep an eye’s on ya. I ain’t doin’ no such thing, sir. Got my work cut out fer me followin’ ya around while ya hoppin’ around the town. As I sees it, what you kids do or don’t do stopped bein’ my responsibility when ya graduated. Now my only job is to operate this goddamn buildin’s security and lend ya some advice once in awhile.” He shrugs as he types something into his little computer and you raise an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, and what’s your advice this time?”

“Yer smart Mr. Vantas but them gals, miss Lalonde and miss Maryam? They ain’t no pretty gurlies just actin’ all dumb and shit. They know what’s up. Or they will. Yous better be careful.” You pat his shoulder and shove your overcoat on.

“Alright, Spades. Thanks for the tip.”

“Anytime Mr. Vantas.” He goes back to reading his newspaper and you shake your head in disbelief. Those fellows from security are a rare bunch but they’re the best fuckers you can ever count on.

When you walk out of the building, a gust of wind hits you squarely on your face and for a moment you panic and think this was some of John’s bullshit. You notice the sky is sort of cloudy and has that reddish hue it gets when it’s about to rain so you quickly dismiss the idea of John following you out here.

You walk along the sidewalk that leads to the park across the street paying close attention to the sounds around you. You know he won’t try anything but you can’t help it. You never let your guard down.

You sit on a bench close to a large oak tree in front of the lake and shiver when another gust of wind stirs your scarf. 

“Do any of your friends have that weird aspect where they can find out if it’s gonna rain or not? That would come in handy right now.”

“You mean a meteorologist? No, we don’t have one of those but I can recommend a good news channel. Dumbass.” You hug yourself as Dave takes a seat at your side.

“Hmm, pity. How are we going to know when to duck the fuck out from this tree when it starts raining? Unless you want to get struck by lightning though, then by all means continue to sit here.”

“Jesus Christ. Nothing is going to happen, just shut the hell up.” You frown when he chuckles.

“You cold, bro?”

“No, of course not you fucking twat. I’m peachy keen over here.”

“Fine, freeze your ass off. See if I care.” He sighs and you turn your face to look at him.

“You probably do.” He gets visibly flustered and turns his face to the side as he tries to hide the red tint in his cheeks.

“Shut the fuck up, Vantas. No one told you to walk out without a jacket.” 

“Maybe you should take your stupid shades off because if you haven’t noticed, I’m wearing a fucking overcoat and hoodie.” You gesture to your clothing and he shrugs.

“Not my fault you're a delicate little flower.”

“Oh, fuck you!” You both stay silent for a few minutes. Weirdly enough it isn’t filled with that awkward silence you always see in movies. Just sitting here and listening to the thunder in the distance is nice. You shiver when another gust of wind hits you and Dave sighs once again. You’re about to ask him what the fuck is his problem when you feel his arm slip around your waist. He tugs at your side a little until you take the hint and lean into his chest. You feel like an idiot in one of your romcoms. You feel your face heat up. It’s nice.

“Maybe this way you’ll quit shaking like a wet cat.” He says as he looks to the side once again.

“Maybe shut the fuck up.” But you slip your own arm around his waist and practically nuzzle into his chest. You feel his grip tighten and you allow yourself a small smile. 

“So… I um. I’ve never really done something like this.” He says. You can feel his chin rest on top of your head.

“Sit in a park at three in the morning while freezing our asses off and cuddling like a couple of idiots? Now that you mention it, neither have I.” He chuckles.

“You’re one sarcastic little dude, you know that right?”

“I’m not little. You’re just freakishly tall.”

“I’m actually short for my kind. Just a few centimeters above 6’2”. How tall are you 5’7 or something?”

“Yeah close enough. You know six feet is way taller than any normal human right?” You hug him tighter as another breeze blows bye.

“You’re not a normal human.” 

“You know what I mean.” You mutter as he starts to comb his fingers through your messy hair.

You notice he’s humming a tune absentmindedly as he continues to untangle all the knots in your hair. At one moment, he leans down and sniffs the top of your head and you freeze. You’re not sure if he notices it but he continues running his fingers through your locks. Now you really wish you took a shower before coming out here.

“Hey this is all hella romantic and shit but you're kind of crushing my ribs over there.” He pokes your shoulder and you sigh. You straighten back into a sitting position and try not to frown. You were really comfortable. 

Dave tsks and shakes his head.

“Nope, this won’t do.” 

“What won’t- hey! what the fuck are you… oh.” He pulls you into his lap and circles your waist with his arms. He hums contently and nuzzles your neck. 

“Yeah, definitely much better.”

“Smooth, Strider.” You grunt but you wrap your arms around his neck and hide your face under his chin.

“You said I needed to work on my romance skills so hey.” You feel him kiss the top of your head and notice that some how, in the course of six hours, you both went from playing this lethal game of tag to cuddling in the middle of the night. You aren’t complaining but you sure think it’s weird how these things work out.

“So… Are we dating now? Is this a thing?” He tries to act nonchalant about it but you can hear a slight waver in his voice. He’s nervous.

“Well considering we’re both from completely different sides of society, that we’re always trying to kill each other and that our respective friends and families would fucking disown us if they found out, I’d say yes we can definitely do this “thing.”

“Cool, awesome, fan-fucking-tastic. Just fyi, my clan has already sort of disowned me since I saved your godawful ass in India so no worries there.” You look up at him and he’s smirking at you. He kisses your nose and you sneeze.

“Oh my fucking god that was the cutest thing ever. Oh shit, can you hear that? That’s the sound of my heart growing twice it’s size. Jesus fuck, you’re adorable-” You glare at him as he keeps blabbing about how cute and adorable you are until you clasp your hand on his mouth.

“I. Am not. _Cute._ ” You feel his face tense so you know he’s smiling at you. You can’t help it, you blush. He pulls your hand off his mouth and intertwines your fingers together.

“Cute as fuck. The cutest, it’s you.”

“You fucking meme lord.”

“You know it, babe.” He kisses your nose again and you just roll your eyes. 

You continue to sit in silence. Or at least you do. Dave keeps humming songs and whispering some of the lyrics every now and then as he runs his fingers up and down your back. You feel your eye lids getting heavy.

“So I hate to break our incredibly fluffy as fuck love bubble but there is exactly 13 minutes till sunrise and I need to head back. So do you.” 

He says making your eyes snap open. Did you fall asleep?

“How the fuck do you know- oh the time thing,” You say when he taps the side of his nose, “OK, but what the fuck even with the whole sunrise thing? I’ve seen demons out in the sun sometimes. Contrary to popular belied, you are _not_ a fucking vampire, douche face.”

“I know that. I'm actually tired you insensitive prick. Besides, _you_ actually need to go back to your crib. Your friend slash mom is gonna get hella pissed at you. You’ve been out here for about three hours.” Oh fuck. Kanaya _is_ going to be pissed. You shuffle around in his lap and he helps you stand up. 

“Alright come on, let's go.” You tug on his hand he he follows you back on the path you came from.

As you get closer to the HQ, he tugs your hand and you turn around to look at him with a confused expression.

“I can’t get any closer. I can sense some freaky magic mayhem working over there. Alarms will go off if I step into the buildings boundaries.” He gives you a sad smile, like he doesn’t actually want to leave you.

“You don’t want to leave?” You blurt out. Nice job, Karkat. You know he likes you but now you’re just pushing your luck. You stare down out your feet when he stays silent.

“...No.” He says making your head snap up. “Why the hell would I want to leave? You know how much it sucks to be in an apartment all by yourself?”

“Oh.” Right, loneliness is a thing. Shit you actually thought…

“Besides, standing out here in this freezing weather with you is much better than anything else I could be doing.” He smirks and you’re about to scream at him to fuck off when he leans in to kiss you. Softly, tender. Nothing like the kiss you shared hours ago. He cups your cheek and moves his lips against yours, sighing when you part your lips open. He traces your lower lip with his tongue and you fucking cling to his neck, press your body to his and groan. Needy much?

“Someone needs a good fuck.” He whispers as he takes a step back.

“Fuck you.” You pant.

“ _Humans_. Can't control themselves... But no, _I’ve_ actually got a little control over my hormones, thank you.” He gives you a chaste kiss and starts walking backwards.

“I really fucking despise you.” You tell him.

“Love you lots, sugar. See you tomorrow.” And he’s gone.  
As you walk back into the institute you wonder if he really does mean you’ll see him again tomorrow. You swipe your ID on the machine and you see Deuce smiling at you behind a shitty joke book. 

“Hiya, Mr. Vantas! Miss Maryam was lookin’ for ya over in the main corridor an hour ago.” He says as you through the security system. An orange light flashes, indicating you’ve been around a demon. Good job, Karkat. Now Kanaya is going to know something really went down.

“Whoa there, looks like you’ve picked up some demons attention! You’ve got traces of it all over ya!” he taps a few buttons on his device and you are suddenly being sprayed and blown all over by some huge fans. It's like you walked into a car wash. You and Jade jokingly call the spray the “demon-be-gone” but it’s actually some highly composed magic to wear off a demons black tendrils. You fucking hate it, it makes your clothes smell like onions.

“There ya go, Mr. Vantas. Good as new! Be seein’ ya, yeah?” You grunt and walk out of the lobby. 

You’re fucking tired and just want to go to sleep but of course you can’t. You bump into Kanaya when you reach the dorms corridor and almost fall flat on your ass.

“Kanaya what the actual fuck?” You rub your forehead where it collided with her chest and throw her a dirty glare.

“Where in gods name have you been? You said you’d be out for a while. Since when is “a while” three hours, Karkat? I was worried! I almost woke Porrim up so she could help me look for you!”

“Jeez, I’m not defenseless, you know? And I’m actually allowed to leave this three house, just so you know.” You smile as you recall Dave calling the HQ like that when he texted you.

“What are you smiling at? Is this a joke to you? And is that onions I smell? You were clean-sprayed. Karkat what in the orders name did you go out to do, kill rogue demons for fun?” She looks really fucking pissed and you wince when she sneers your name.

“I just went out for a while! I needed to talk a walk, my head was hurting. I didn’t kill anyone, I must have brushed by some lesser demons when I was walking around the city. It’s not something to lose your fucking head over, OK? I appreciate your concern but I don’t need you to babysit me all the time!” She looks like you just insulted her favorite skirt. 

“Alright, fine then. Do whatever creepy business you do. I’ll be on my way. Goodnight, Karkat.” She turns around and walks towards her room, her long red skirt swishing behind her.

You almost feel bad lying to her. Maybe you should tell Dave…

turntechGodhead [TG] began pestering  carcinoGeneticist [CG]

TG: <3 

Or maybe you should just be more careful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I said smut in the fourth chapter right? Well guess what? The prologue doesn't count as a chapter :D
> 
> Big thank you to everyone who has left a comment, I know I haven't answered (I usually do) but I still can't believe people actually liked it enough to _actually_ tell me they want to read more. THANK YOU (:


	4. Forgotten faces

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You have decided to bunk in with Dave for a few day and you are starting to stress over problems you aren't ready to handle. Maybe an afternoon out will make you forget. You might need to go out at night as well, just to be sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The authors regular update schedule has the honor of introducing this very long chapter!

You had told yourself this thing with Dave would only last a few days. Maybe a week or two if he was nice. 

Past you is an idiot.

It's been four months since that day in the park. Four months of you lying to Kanaya, Roxy, Jade and John. Oh fuck John… You two were supposed to be a thing right? Jesus fuck you were a terrible person.

“Let's go out.” You tell Dave who currently has his head on your abdomen. You're running your fingers through his hair as he plays some video game in his tiny game system. You never really understood those things. 

He looks up at you from the corner of his eye and pauses his game.

“ _You_ wanna go out? What's the occasion, you kill some lesser demon for jaywalking?” He snickers and you frown.

“I just don't want to be stuck in here all day. I told my friends I'd be out for a few days because I was sent on a “scouting mission”. They know I can't be bothered. So if I'm going to be with you for these few days I want to do something that doesn't involve us lounging around all day.” You huff and he turns his body around to face you.

“You know, I can think of a few things to do that'll take your mind off of all that shit.” He says and you can see his sharp teeth as he grins at you. 

“I'm not having sex with you. I'm not… I don't feel ready.” You feel like a stupid teenager as you say this but it's true. You enjoy some romance in your life and you weren't going to leap into having sex with Dave just because he could rile you up in any second.

“Alright fine, I know you take your virginity serious. I won't push you.” He holds his hands up and flops back on your stomach.

“Would you fucking shut up? How the fuck do you know if I'm a virgin anyway? I could've already done it with someone and you might not even know!” You huff in annoyance. He rolls his eyes and crawls over you, laying his head on your chest. He cups your cheek and swipes his thumb back and forth. He's been sickeningly sweet lately.

“Do tell me who had the honor of popping the lid of your Pringles can. Was it John? I bet it was John.” 

“What is it with you and John? You always bring him up.” You shake your head as he frowns. 

“Man, fuck John. I don't give a fuck about him. Just tell me if it was him so I can punch his lights out.”

“Why the hell would you do that?” You giggle as he hugs your neck.

“Fucking lucky bastard… He got to see your face in the throes of heated sex before me. That is a good enough reason to want to punch him.” He pouts and you giggle again.

“Jealous much?”

“Fucking bucktoothed kid needs to get his own Karkat.” He tightens his grip on your neck and you move your hands to his back.

“Relax. It wasn't John. It wasn't anyone, I was just kidding.” You murmur as you run your fingers down his spine.

“Really? So I still have a chance in being the first to ever explore your ruins?” He gives you a goofy smile and you can't help but smile back.

“Maybe.” 

“Fuck yes… So what are you planning to tell John anyway? Aren't you two supposedly a couple?”

“Not officially. We were just trying it out. We’ve been friends a long time and people thought we were dating so we decided we should just try but… I've never seen John as anything other than a friend. I'm pretty sure he feels the same.”

“How do you know?” You smile and tap the side of your nose.

“Oh yeah, the blood slayer thing. So what, you gonna break his bucktoothed heart?”

“I'm just going to be as sincere as I can. Tell him it wasn't working out and that I know he only loves me as a friend. He’ll get over it.”

“Harsh, babe.” You scoff as he smirks at you. “So what, are we going outside or not?”

“Oh thank the maker.”

___________________________________________________________

“Excellent idea, babe. Walk around the city like a couple of dumbasses and freeze our dicks off. You are officially banned from date ideas.” His eyes flash red through his shades and you roll your eyes.

“Don’t you flash your goddamn dead eyes at me, Dave Strider. I will hang you upside down from a flagpole.” 

“Kinky but I’m down.” He hugs your waist and kisses your neck making you giggle. Yeah, Karkat Vantas, master hunter, just fucking giggled. God, you’re pathetic. 

“Can we at least go get a bite or something to drink? Anywhere with actual heat would be nice.” He slips your intertwined hands in the pocket of his jacket and you sigh.

“Fine. I know a place that serves your kind. It’s really close.”

“ _My kind_?” He raises an eyebrow at you and you feel stupid.

“Sorry, old habit. Just, come on!” You pull him through the crowds of demons, humans and the occasional hunter. The former glare at you and Dave sneers at a couple of them who actually curl their lips in distaste.

“Stop it, you’re going to get us in trouble.” 

“They’re the ones lookin’ for trouble. I ain’t doin’ shit to ‘em.” His accent bleeds through and you smile.

“All righty, sheriff Dave.” You nudge his sides to distract him and luckily for you it works.

“Shut up, I know I have an accent. You know, that ol’ timey cowboy routine of yours is fucking racist.”

“Oh bite me, Dave. Look, we’re here.” You pull him inside a red building with a glowing sign that says **Open 24 hours**. Under the neon lights there’s a sticker with a red logo. It’s a sticker that means they sell food for demons.  
When you were 15, places with these stickers were rare. As you grew up they became more common. Now there’s hardly a place without one.

“Welcome to Dante’s! Table for two?” You nod and the small demon girl leads you to your table. Her tail swishes around as she walks over to a booth. _Lesser demon, her tail is a straight giveaway. Lucky for her._ you think to yourself as you take a seat. Lesser demons are usually respected more than greater demons (like Dave) since they tend to be more civilized and less disruptive. Funny how that works.  
She hands you both a menu and tells you she’ll be back shortly to take your order. You quickly flip through the menu easily choosing your meal. Dave takes more time and gets a frustrated look on his face.  
You ask for a coke when the girl comes back and Dave asks for an energy drink. Demons seem fond of those.

“So have you picked something to eat?” The girl smiles as she places your drinks on the table.

“Yes, small lasagna with extra cheese, please.” You look over at Dave who looks like he’s about to have a heart attack. “Dave?”

“Shit um… Large steak, uncooked. A basket of french fries, three cannolis and two pieces of garlic bread.” He rushes through his order in a hurry and you wonder how the girl even caught all of that. She nods and leaves your table.

“What in the flying fish sticks was that? I thought you were going to pass out!”

“I get nervous when I ask for food, OK? I get really hungry and stress out over what to eat.” He folds his arms and tips his head to the side when you laugh at him.

“I can tell, you asked for half the goddamn menu.” He pouts and you reach your hand out to hold his own.

“I’m not going to judge you if you want to eat a lot, Dave. I _know_ demons burn through calories more than normal.” 

“I’m not used to going out with someone that knows I’m going to stuff my face, dude.” He shrugs.

“I’m not used to going out with someone.” He sticks his tongue out at you and you grin.

You both keep talking about useless nonsense while you wait for your meals; Dave’s bread arrives first and he kindly offers you a small corner before he devours the rest. He actually shares his french fries but refuses to let you cover them in ketchup.  
When your lasagna arrives he’s already eaten two of his cannolis and half his raw steak. 

“I’m full. You want this?” You point to the left over lasagna on your plate and he nods as he pushes it onto his plate. You watch him eat it in two bites. You smile when he gives you a sheepish grin. 

You pay for the meal before he can even take his wallet out. He shoves your shoulder when the girl takes the check. You let him leave the tip so he’ll shut up.

He takes your hand as you stand to walk out of the place.  
“Yo, Dave!” Someone calls out and he turns towards the voice.

“Sup, Nitram.” He says as a rather large demon approaches you. He’s even taller than Dave and that’s saying something. He has no visible marks so you assume he’s a greater demon like Dave.

“Dude where the hell have you been? Haven’t seen you or your brother over at the Second Star in ages!” He clasps Dave’s shoulder and grins at him.

“I haven’t seen him in a while.” Dave shrugs and you look up at him. “Shit sorry um, Rufioh this is Karkat. He’s my boyfriend.” He gestures between you and Rufioh whose gazes flickers down to see you. He smiles again and you feel fucking awkward.

“Heya! Rufioh Nitram at your service, Karkat. Wait are you Karkat Vantas? Like, fucking demon hunter Karkat Vantas, golden boy of the first order?” 

“I guess I am.” You mutter.

“Yo Dave, I knew you were seeing someone but dude I didn’t know you had a fucking death wish. What’s it like dating a freaking master hunter?”

“I’m standing right here you absolute troglodite. Why don’t you lean that enormous meat sack you call a torso down here so I can tell you what it’s like.”

“Ouch, grouchy! So are what people say true? Did you really rip some lesser demon's horns off with your teeth?” He whispers and you roll your eyes. Goddamit, demon makeup insane stories about hunters..

“You see these?” You show him your blunt, clearly normal, teeth. “Now explain to me how in the fuck would I have ripped some demons tusk like horns off their head. God all of you are idiots.” Dave smirks as Rufioh nods and shrugs.

“Dude leave my boy alone, it’s not his fault he’s a gullible ass.” Dave pats the tall demons shoulder and you huff in annoyance. 

“I like you little, amigo. You need to fucking come to the Second Star later today.” He hands Dave a flier.

“You gonna be playing today?” Dave asks as he reads the piece of paper.

“You know it, chico. So will I see you there?” Dave looks at you and you shrug. 

“Sure man, see you there.” 

“Alright! I’ll see you later, muchachos.” He shakes your hand and fist bumps Dave before going back to his seat. 

Dave holds your hand again and steps out into the street. He starts walking back the way you came and you give him a confused look.

“Well we gotta go shower back home, don’t we? Maybe find you something less “I kill demons for a living” and more “I fuck pretty boys” to wear.” You punch his arm with the intention of causing him serious pain.

___________________________________________________________

Dave managed to convince you to wear some of his clothes. A simple grey shirt with a black jacket over it. You decided to wear your own black skinny jeans (one of the two pairs that you own) and your boots. He keeps saying you look great over and over as he finishes dressing up in the bathroom.

He’s wearing something that is actually making it difficult for you to think straight; tight dark jeans, a white shirt with its sleeves rolled up, red tie and black vest. He looks fucking fantastic. 

“You look nice.” You quip as he walks out to slip his black converse on. 

“You look hot.” He smirks.

“Come on, asshole. It’s almost twelve.” You pull on his hand and you walk out the door, a blush on your face.

_________________________________________________________

The bouncer, _Crowbar_ ,let’s you into the club as soon as you walk up to him. He says nods at Dave and tips his hat at you when you walk in.

Dave holds your hand as you walk through the crowd of people. The music is pulsing and the lights are making you dizzy. You walk around the group of people who are dancing in the middle of the place and head straight for the DJ booth where you see Rufioh Nitram.

“Yo, amigo! Didn’t think you’d actually come!” Rufioh fist bumps Dave’s fist and gives you a coy smile, “Glad you came, blood slayer,” He winks and you frown at him. 

“Dude I thought it’d be packed tonight.” Dave shouts as he looks around.

“I’m sorry, was the mass of people we just swam through too unclustered for you?” 

“It’s usually worse.” Rufioh shouts back as he switches up the beat on his DJ equipment.

“Do you know if my bro is here?” Dave asks. Rufioh shakes his head and Dave visibly relaxes. You didn’t know it had been bothering him.

“Here, this is on me. Maybe shorty over here will relax after he’s had a few drinks.” Rufioh gives Dave two pink neon bracelets that say **all included** and you suppose that means you can get shitfaced tonight if you want to (you do.) Dave wraps the plastic around your wrist and pecks your cheek when you shove him away.

“Wanna dance?” He whispers in your ear.

“No.”

“Great, come on.” 

He pulls you back into the sea of people who automatically create a little space for you two. You’re not sure if it’s because they can smell Dave’s blood or your own. A human girl hands you some colorful shots from a tray as she walks by you. Well what the hell, might as well enjoy yourself.

He holds you close as the beat switches again. You’ve never really gone out dancing to a club. Sure maybe once or twice you accompanied Terezi and Roxy but you just filled yourself with coke and one or two beers. Dancing wasn’t really your thing but from the way Dave was moving behind you, you knew it was his.

You danced with him as well as you could, movements stiff and choppy until he leaned down to whisper in your ear.

“Relax, babe. There’s no science in dancing. Remember that little strife we had in Hong Kong? It’s pretty much the same but without the weapons.” He kissed you under your ear and you shivered. 

A demon guy with too much glitter and not enough clothes walked by and handed you both another two shots which you booth downed quickly.

“So just like strifing, right?” You wrap an arm around Dave’s neck. OK, well then this shouldn’t be too hard. You move around him quickly leaving light touches on his waist and shoulders as he twists around you. Shifting around him and then spinning back towards him

Your shoulder and hip movements begin to loosen up after two more drinks. Dave starts to pull you closer. He nips your neck and ear occasionally and he keeps a hand on your waist.  
After three more drinks you think that your strife-dancing has turned more into a grind-dancing. He keeps you close to him, his breath on your neck and you rake your nails down his back. In some corner of your brain you tell yourself this is fucking obscene but a quick look around you confirms that you are by far the most decent pair in the club.  
He starts to kiss up and down your neck and you wrap your arms around his, swaying with him as he sucks on the skin connecting your shoulder and neck. You toss your head back when he bites a certain spot. That’s when you see him.

The lighting confuses you for a second but when a certain colored light hits his stupid face you know it's him. And if he’s here, you are sure…

“Dave we need to leave.” You whisper into his ear as he wraps his arms around your waist.

“Why? What-”

“Karkat.” You freeze when you hear his voice. You want to hide behind Dave but he’s holding you in place. You twist in his arms and come to face with Kankri.

“Hello Kankri.” You spit out after a minute of staring at him.

“Yo, doll what’s the… Oh. Good to see ya, Vantas.” The purple eyed fucker nods his head at you in acknowledgement. You tense as he wraps an arm around Kankri’s shoulders.

“We were just leaving.” You grind your teeth.

“Whoa, wait. What the hell is happening? Karkat is this your brother?” Dave asks incredulously by your side and you resist the urge to roll your eyes.

“Yep,” you say popping the p (wow you might be a little drunk.) “Kankri fucking Vantas, meet Dave Strider. Dave, this is my brother and his… Excuse me, I don’t know or care what the fuck you are to him. Cronus Amp something.” You wave your hand around as you try to remember his name.

“Sup, I’m Dave. I think know your kin-sibling.” Dave nods at Cronus who shrugs. Kankri still hasn’t said a word and that is uncharacteristic of him.

“Did you lose your voice or something Kankri? You haven’t said a word since you saw me. Oh god, are you _dying_?” You mock him and he glares at you. 

“You are a goddamn hypocrite!” He shoves your shoulder and you stumble backwards into Dave’s chest who quickly curves protectively over you and growls at Kankri. Cronus takes a step in front of Kankri and you laugh.

“I don’t need him to defend me, Ampora. I could rip you to shreds right now. Ampora! That’s his fucking name.” You snap your fingers and nod to yourself. He bares his shark like teeth at you. Oh yeah, fucking Ampora was a lesser demon.

“It is alright, Cronus. I do not think my _brother_ is in any condition to fight you, much less me.” He looks you up and down and you flip him off.

“I can still kick your ass, Kankri. I don’t need to be sober to fucking know that you half witted asshole.”

“How dare you call me an asshole after what you did to me! All those things you said before I left. How you treated me when I tried to come see you! Telling me I had shamed our name by going out with Cronus. _You_ are the asshole here, Kat!” You wince when he uses your old nickname. 

“Just let it be, chief. He don’t wanna talk to ya.” Cronus touches his shoulder lightly and Kankri looks up at him.

“So he’s still making all the decisions for you, _Kanny_. Pathetic.” You sneer his nickname and you can see his mouth twitch. You’ve seen your brother get angry loads of times so you know he’s about two more insults away from taking a swing at you.

“Now listen here, I will NOT let you speak that way about me. You have no fucking right!” He jabs a finger in your chest and again, Dave puts you behind him and bares his teeth at Kankri.

“You better watch it, Vantas. Keep your fucking hands off of him.” He growls.

“Get your huge demon out of my face Karkat before I punch his shades off.” Kankri says as he glares at Dave, unfazed by the way he’s towering over him.

“I’d like to see you try.” Dave goads him and as much as you’d like to see your brother get a punch in his face, you don’t want to get Dave in trouble. Kankri is still a hunter and Dave can still be charged for assaulting him.

“I don’t have time to put up with your bullshit.” You grab Dave’s wrist and tug him to your side. He takes his shades off and slips them into the front of his vest. You look over at Kankri and see his eyes widen.

“So you had the nerve to call me a dishonor to our bloodline for dating a lesser demon but you? You’ve managed to get tangled up with a greater demon, a Strider no less!” He purses his lips and raises his eyebrows at you.

“I’m not the one who let his life be ruled by the decisions of a notorious criminal!” You shout at him.

“You think your time-demon has a clean slate or did you just decide to overlook his personal flaws for love? This exactly what father warned you about, Kat. You are powerful but you are overruled by your feelings. You say my ties with Cronus have blinded me but you’ve blinded yourself when you decided to create a relationship with this creature. Have you no regards to your order or to your unit? They are your family!” 

“Don’t fucking talk to me about family when you’re the one who left me! You killed someone for this douchebag!” You point at Cronus who turns his head and frowns. “I know Dave isn’t perfect, I’ve been chasing him for five years. But at least I know he’s never harmed anyone and I certainly know he’d never make me kill a member of my unit!” Kankri flinches and Cronus’s head snaps to him. In a moment, he’s at his side holding him and burying his face in his hair.

“It wasn’t like that Karkat. Things were more complicated. Damara… She threatened Kankri. She had a knife to his neck. I was only tryin’ to protect him and when she swung for me, he tried to defend me. In a mistake on her part... she just impaled herself with her own weapon. None of it was his fault.” Cronus rubs at the scars over his right eye. “You gotta show ‘em, Kanny. He’s gotta see it for himself.” Cronus tugs at Kankri’s jacket.

You watch Kankri take a deep breath and unzip his jacket. You tense your jaw when you see it. Three circle shaped scars and a burn mark in the clear form a needle. He zips his jacket back up.

“I… I need to sit down.” Dave takes your hand and walks you toward a lounge chair. Kankri and Cronus sit in front of you without saying a word. You sit in silence as you try to organize our thoughts.

“Yo, Ampora. Maybe we should get the hunters a drink.” Dave stands up and Cronus nods as he stands up to follow Dave.

“Incredibly subtle, isn’t he?” Kankri says.

“About as subtle as the people here are clueless as to what happened right now…” you murmur.

“He seems protective of you.” Kankri looks over at Dave who keeps looking over at you.

“I guess so.” You shrug.

“Karkat, he loves you.” It’s not a question. You forgot your brother could _see_ relationships.

“I think I love him too.” Admitting this makes you feel scared and incredibly vulnerable.

“You do. I’m glad you found someone who will endure your constant outbursts. He seems to balance you out perfectly. Much more than Johnathan. By the way, you must end your so-called relationship with him. It’s unhealthy and it could cause you a great deal of problems. I should know.” He looks over to Cronus and grimaces.

“Damara tried to kill you because she found out about you and Cronus?” You raise an eyebrow at him and he nods.

“We were very young, Karkat. She mustn't be blamed for my actions. My ties to people, because of my blood-slayer abilities, tend to be strong. Breaking them causes great deals of pain. She must have resented me a lot for choosing him over her. She was never one to approve of relationships with demons and for to find out I was involved with the one demon we were hunting was a blow to her. She just snapped. I don’t think she was in much control of her actions. I am to blame for her death and I regret not doing something to prevent it everyday.”

“It wasn’t your fault. If Cronus was telling the truth, she killed herself.” 

“Yes but still. If I hadn’t gotten involved with Cronus maybe all of this could have been prevented. Maybe I’d still be sitting with her in the HQ. Maybe _you_ wouldn’t hate me. In all honesty, and I do hope she forgives me where ever she is for saying this but, I did not feel as horrible for her death compared to the feeling of losing _you_. Out of all the things I lost when she died, you were the one thing I felt the most. I couldn’t bare to look you in the eyes and when I tried to talk to you after I left and you said those things… I was a bit heartbroken. Again, things that could have been prevented if I hadn’t fallen for Cronus.”

“You can’t control who you fall in love with, Kan. You think I was on board with loving Dave?” You roll your eyes.

“No I suppose you’d be a little against it. Actually knowing you, I imagine he had to work very hard to get you to warm up to the idea.”

“More or less.” You smile and Kankri smiles back at you.

“Do my eyes deceive me or is Karkat Vantas, smiling over a _boy_? I never thought I’d see the day where the all mighty hunter, the fearless angry and self proclaimed “cold hearted” Karkat would be in love.” He teases.

“I’m starting to hate you again, Kanny.” You groan and he smiles.

“So you done trying to attack my bouy?” Cronus slips into the seat next to Kankri. You feel Dave slide in next to you. He curls an arm around your waist. You look over to him and he gives you a quick peck.

“I think we have finished here, Cronus. I’d like to go home now.” He stands and Cronus follows his lead, “ Karkat, I do hope we see each other soon. In much less noisy circumstances and in definitely much calmer manners.” You nod and give him a small smile. “David, great to meet you. Your kin-siblings tried to kill me multiple times, I’m grateful to actually meet a Strider who isn’t trying to slice me in half.” He shakes Dave’s hand.

“I have no association with any past or future Strider that isn’t myself. But yeah, nice meeting you.”

“Thank you for not stabbing me, chief. You’re much nicer without a weapon in your hand. Strider, nice to actually meet one of you in person.” You flip Cronus off and he gives you a two finger salute.

“Goodbye, Karkat.”

You watch your brother leave and decide you need to dance some more.

_____________________________________________________________________

“Well I’m glad I got to meet your brother. I was starting to believe he was a myth.” Dave says as he undoes his red tie. You’re flopped on his bed watching him undress and trying to kick your shoes off.

“Yeah yeah, he’s an asshole. You’re both assholes. Maybe you’ll actually get along.” He flashes you a grin as he unbuttons his shirt and throws it over a chair. 

You manage to take your shoes off and slip your shirt off over your head. You sit on the edge of the bed and shove your pants off as you watch Dave shimmy out of his own, his back facing you.

“Dave.”

“Hmm?”

You kneel on the bed and turn him towards you and you hook your arms behind his head.

“Dave.”

“Karkat.” His hands slip to your waist and you kiss him before he can say anything else. It’s messy and clumsy and you tip over once you pull him closer landing flat on your back.You giggle when he kisses up your neck. You scratch up his back with your nails and he growls in your mouth. You nip his lips playfully and he grabs your ass making you arch into him.

“No. Karkat not now… Too tired. Gonna fall asleep.” He says as his kisses go from aggressive to small and tender.

“Dave, you are an absolute idiot.”

“You love me” He murmurs against your skin.

“...I do.” He freezes and looks up at you with the most ridiculous smile you’ve ever seen on his face.

“Yeah, I love you too.” He kisses you long and slow, keeping a hand on your cheek.  
It feels like hours later when you both separate for air. He’s still smiling at you when he lays his head on your chest.

Something in between you two has changed but you aren’t sure and you’re suddenly to tired to dwell on it.

Before you fall asleep you can hear three words in your head: _I love you._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to visit my [tumblr](http://adhdkarkatvantas.tumblr.com/) if you have any questions or are confused about something. I know my plots tend to be confusing and twisted.
> 
> And yes, I headcanon Rufioh as hispanic. 
> 
> Thank you so much for the kudos and comments, I never thought anyone would like this story.


	5. Like Romeo and Juliet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You knew this was all going to blow up in your face, it was just bound to happen. Oh god, binding. Please don't even mention the binding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, actual smut in this chapter. I have added tags to the fic. I actually wrote smut and I am proud. I am posting this very late so I am sorry for any errors, I will edit it better later!

When your eyes crack open, the first thing you notice was an immense need to pee. The second thing you notice is a very heavy arm pressing into your bladder.

"Dave, Dave wake the fuck up I need to piss," you nudge the arm on top of you. Dave grunts and roll onto your abdomen increasing your need to pee, "Mother fuck... Dave!" You shove at the tan boys shoulder making him jolt out of his sleep.

"I didn't steal his blood!" He shouts at no one in particular.

"Dave can you- What?" You look at him with a puzzled expression.

"I just- where am I?" He looks over at you with a sick-looking expression. He blinks twice and seems to actually notice you and his grimace switches to a lazy smile.

"Why the fuck are you looking at me like that?" You feel your face heat up and look away from him.

"Your lips are swollen." He murmurs with a smirk. Something in his gaze flickers and he was suddenly leaning into you. You arch an eyebrow as the red-eyed demon crawls over you and straddles your hips.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" You say as you push at Dave's shoulder.

"Your lips are swollen, your neck is bruised and your hair is tangled into a crazy mess. You look thoroughly _fucked_ and we only made out. I wonder what you'll look like when we actually get to fuck." He purrs into your ear as he gently nibbles at the lobe.

"Aahh... No, get the fuck off. I need to go to the bathroom." You buck him off and he moves off you. 

"Dammit fine. Go, be human and use the toilet!" He crosses his arms in annoyance and turns his back to you. 

You lift yourself from the bed and stretch your back. Even though you drank more alcohol last night than you have in your entire life, you didn’t seem to have any sort of hangover. You pad into the bathroom and take your time using the toilet. After you finish, you stick your head under the faucet and gulp in about a liter of water.

"You know, for a higher demon you're such a goddamn prissy little bitch." You say as you walk back out.

“Yeah well, fuck you too.” He says as he crosses his arms.

“Wow, someone's clearly not a morning person.” You lay back down on the bed and he rolls his eyes at you, clearly annoyed.

“It’s four in the morning. No one in this goddamn planet is awake yet.” He huffs.

“Sure OK, whatever, Dave.” He remains silent and this only makes you even more pissed. “Look, if this is because I keep cockblocking you I don’t think-”

“Not everything I think about is sex you goddamn, idiot! Sure yeah, I kinda felt like it two stupid minutes ago but it’s like you don’t even notice these things.” He throws his hands up in exasperation and you frown.

“Don’t you fucking call me an idiot, you spineless fuckwit. What the hell am I supposed to be noticing, your lovely ruby eyes? They look adorable, sweetie. Is that what you want me to say?” You say, your voice heavy with sarcasm.

“You say I’m the asshole but you can be a fucking dick as well, you know that?” He growls.

“Yes, I’m a huge jerk who happens to have a thing for condescending assholes who like to act like they’re not offended by things that have _clearly_ offended them.”

“I don’t have to put up with you crap, you know that? Not with your assholey attitude or your family problems. I could’ve just let you sort your own shit by yourself!”

"Well then leave, if we're done here you can fucking go. I'm not restraining you, am I? So if you're done fucking around, what's stopping you from leaving?" Despite your tone, you feel hurt. 

"You, you're stopping me." Dave says after a beat.

"I'm not holding you down, asshole! You can use the fucking door or fade the fuck out of here. Just leave me the fuck alone after you leave or I swear on my fucking lineage that I will fucking kill you!" You can feel your eyes prickle and you feel like an absolute idiot. How dare this stupid demon make you feel weak? How dare he let you develop feelings for him and then push you away?

"You wouldn't kill me." Dave murmurs

"Try me, dickface. I would hunt you down. Despite me kissing your gross face and falling asleep next to you I still fucking hate you. You're just a demon and I'm a hunter. So we made out, who the fuck even cares? At least now you can tell your friends you fucked around with me, right?" You turn your back to Dave and wrap your arms around your torso. You suddenly feel cold and embarrassed.

"You're lying. I know you are."

"How the fuck would you know?" You murmur.

"I know because I can feel it in your words!" Dave says. He suddenly seems very pissed.

"You can't feel it, you liar! Only demons with empathy links can feel those things and I never-"

"Got linked with me? Because I hate to break into you, but we are. I felt it before we fell asleep. I felt it the minute we woke up. Have you tried linking to Kanaya? You won’t be able to because our link has severed your link with her. And here you are thinking I’ve only got my head in the gutter and that I’m a clueless fuck. Well who’s clueless now, huh?" You feel panic and dread wash over you. What the hell have you done? How could you let yourself get linked to a demon? And of all the demons, you picked Dave fucking Strider.

"Is it so bad to know your linked with me?" Dave asks and you turn around to look at him. How could he tell you were upset?

“I already told you. I can feel it. I can practically _see_ your words. I can _feel_ you fighting against this. Do you really hate me, Karkat?” He says without looking you in the eyes.

Minutes go by and you don’t answer. You feel confused and sort of lost. You watch Dave curl in on himself. He starts to stand up so you open decide to speak up.

"No. I don't." You say and he stills.

"Well?" Dave asks after you fail to elaborate.

"I feel _something_ for you but it's definitely not hate. You know I’m a blood hunter, we can't link ourselves to anyone without feeling something towards the person. That’s the reason I’ve only ever been linked to two people in my life. I didn't want to create a bond I couldn't control." You murmur.

"Why do you regret it, then?" He asks with pain in his eyes. You quirk an eyebrow at him. “I can feel your words laced with regret, dude.” He gives you a sad smile.

"Because you're an insensitive asshole! You just like to play your fucked up ironic mind tricks with me and while you were busy playing another one of your silly little games I actually... Started to feel something." You turn your face to the side, not before seeing Dave's eyes widen. You suddenly feel two strong arms wrap around your waist making you tense.

"We linked for a reason, Vantas. I'm a greater demon, I could've easily prevented it from happening but I didn't want to. I wanted to be close to you." He murmurs in your ear making you shiver. 

"I didn't think... I just assumed you were caught in the moment." You tell him. He stretches his arm in front of you and on his palm you can see your symbol inked on his skin.   
Whenever a hunter created an empathy link with someone, their symbol was marked into the person's skin and vice versa. You’ve only ever had to symbols on your palm; Kanaya’s and your own, since your link was with your brother who has the same symbol as you.

You lift your own hand and on your palm, under Kanaya’s symbol and your own, you see Dave’s. It looks colorful and bright. Much brighter than Kanaya’s.

"I want you Karkat. Physically, emotionally, in every way. I know it’s not something “socially correct” but I can’t stop myself from wanting it. When you let me kiss you the first time, I felt hope. Hope is a strange thing for a demon, Karkat. It drives us insane, it consumes us, fills us with so much determination. When you agreed to see me, when you let things move forward, I felt like I was burning, but not in pain, in passion." Dave's breath tickles your neck and his words ignite your own passion for the time demon. 

"Dave, you might have a soul after all..." You whisper as you felt your face flush.

"Mmm..." Dave drags his lips across your neck, slowly sucking on the marks he made last night.

You feel Dave's hand tracing light circles on your waist and you shiver at the sweet contact. You throw your head back letting Dave drag his fangs across your neck. You hook your arm behind the blond's neck and sigh as you feel a hand reach down to palm your groin.

"Dave… I think we should fuck." You pant as the demon sucks a new mark on your neck. 

“Talk about "taking it slow” babe.” Dave chuckles as he shifts on the bed. He makes your turn around and face him. He lifts a hand to frame your face and slides it down your neck giving you a hungry look.

“Dave… Dave do something.” You tell him as you watch him rake his eyes over your body.

“Oh believe me, I am.” He leans close to you, kissing under your jaw slowly and you fidget.

“You’re being awfully careful with me, douchebag. I’m not a fucking human, I can handle a little more.

“Karkat, as much as I'd like to fuck you senseless right now, I actually want to take this at a casual pace. If you fucking try to rush this I will fucking trap you in a slow-circle. You got that, babe?” He opens his palm up and you feel everything around you grow heavy. You frown to show him how pissed you are so he closes it again as he resumes time.

“No aspect magic in bed.” You murmur as he smirks at you.

“Fine by me.” He says as he resumes kissing under your jaw. He sucks marks into your tan skin that you know are in highly visible places but you can't seem to fucking give a shit right now. 

“Lay down.” He tells you as he pushes your shoulder down gently and you comply, wrapping your arms around his neck and pulling him down with you. 

He nibbles at your ear and you bite your lower lip trying to keep quiet. He moves over your body and straddles your hips as he leans back down to kiss you, swiping his tongue over your teeth, his fingers moving up and down your sides.  
He then swivels his hips and you feel a shudder run down your spine but you press your lips together again. You really don't want to be moaning like a horny teen but come on, you've never really _done_ the actual sex.   
He seems to notice you're keeping quiet because he presses down with his hips again and your mouth opens in a silent groan.

“Trying to keep quiet? Really clever but I don't like quiet. Especially when it's your mouth that's being silent.” He nips at your teeth with his fangs and you can feel a trickle of blood fall from your lip. Normally you'd be hella pissed but right now, by the way he looking at you, you just feel really hot.

You lick the blood off your lips while looking Dave straight in the eyes and you see his gaze flicker into something intense and smoldering.

“You have no right to be this fucking hot. Fine, you want to play Karkat? So do I. Let's play “how long will it take for you to be calling my name out”, yeah?” 

“That’ll be the day.” You roll your eyes and his red eyes flare up with the challenge.

He pins your arms above your head and growls a little into your ear. He moves his thigh in between your crotch and presses into you. If you weren’t pressing your lips together so tight you would’ve keened. He seems unsatisfied so he just goes back to rolling his hips over yours and excuse you but, something is pressing into your leg.

Not that you mind but you’re starting to feel a little flustered. And yes, maybe you’re starting to rut against him. Fuck. This was going to be “harder” than you thought. 

You laugh at your little joke and Dave bares his teeth.

“Something funny, Vantas?” You open your mouth to say something but he claps a hand over your mouth, “On second thought, you’re still way to coherent. Maybe I need to do something better.” He lets go of your wrists and watch him move down your body. Is he going to… Oh god he is.   
He starts to pull your underwear down and as he does this, his nails scrape your skin making you shiver in the best way. When he’s successfully tossed your boxers away, he starts to nibble your inner thigh and you want to squirm away but he pins your hips down with his hands. His nails dig in slightly into your skin and you toss your head back being careful of not saying shit.

“I’ve never seen you try to be silent for so long, isn’t there _anything_ you’d like to say?” 

“Shut the fuck up, Strider.” You grit through your teeth as you look down at him. He grins and lick his lips.

“Oh I’m going to enjoy making you scream my name.” And then the motherfucker just goes to town on your fucking dick. He licks the head slowly paying special attention to the slit and just stays there. Your fingers clutch the sheets but you’re not going to say anything.

You feel him hollow his cheeks and begin to suck you off. He’s take his sweet fucking time and you can’t even move your hips because every time you do, his nails dig into your flesh. But you're silent, you haven’t made a single-

“Ahhhh- Dave ahh fuck!” Great job, Vantas. You feel your cock hit the back of his throat and that is the sexiest thing you’ve ever seen. He winks at you and you can’t even be mad. You find yourself being sucked off at full speed now, his head bobbing up and down at some rhythm you have yet to comprehend. Your hands move to card through his hair and you pull slightly when his tongue flicks at the slit making him moan. The vibrations make you moan out again.   
Oh god, how long has he been sucking you off? Not enough but he suddenly pulls off with a nosey pop and you whine. You sit up and frown.

“I know you want this Striders mouth babe, but I’d like to try something else.” He wipes his mouth on the back of his hand and you look at him curiously. He just gives you a side grin as he crawls over you making you lay back down. He starts to kiss you again and holy fuck Dave must really have a diploma in kissing because fuck. You run your hands over his back dragging with little nails you have. His back is probably fucked up now. He starts to suck a mark on your collarbone and you know he’s moving his hand somewhere to the side but your too occupied in grabbing a handful of his ass make him grind into you. You hook your leg over his waist and you know you’re practically humping him right now but who cares?

You hear the pop of a cap as he starts to pull away. You chase after him but he shakes his head.

“I thought I said I’d be doing this for you.” He tips his head to the side and grins again and holy fuck that is one sexy bastard. You watch him slip his shorts off and wow OK, no underwear. You watch him as he moves his hand back and bite his lip as he starts to finger himself in front of you. 

“Mnmm… Karkat…” He makes a great goddamn show of himself. He’s panting with his head tossed back, his hand moving in and out and you just need to kiss him. You move over to his side and start kissing his shoulders, biting with a little more force than he bites you. You run your hands over his biceps and hear him groan when you nibble his ear. 

“Dave, stop. If you come before we get to have sex I’m going to be fucking pissed.” You tell him as you tug on his hand. 

“Lay back down.” He tells you when his eyes open up again. 

“You aren’t seriously going to-”

“Yes, now lay down Karkat.” His voice is deep and seductive so you lay back down and watch as he coats his hand with more lube. 

He starts to slick you up with slow tugging motions and you can’t help but moan his name out once or twice. You shut your eyes and let him jerk you off in slow languid movements. You buck into his hand when he runs his thumb over the head of your cock.Once again, your build up is cut short when he removes his hand. You groan in annoyance and he just snickers.

You watch him position himself over your cock and he slides down on it till he’s taken you in completely. Something about fucking greater demon actually gives you a little confidence to flip him onto his back and start to thrust into him.

“A-aah, Kar-kat!” He gasps as you push into him. He hooks his legs around your waist as you thrust harder. You slip a hand in between you two and start to pump his neglected cock. 

“F-fuuuck, Dave.” He clenches around you and you pant into his ear. You're only mildly aware that he’s almost bending over himself.

“Faster, dude come on, faster I’m so close.” His voice is shaky. You comply and thrust into him faster. 

You start to pull out and then slam back in and he groans out so nice you do it again. You start to match the rhythm of your thrusts with the movements of your hand and soon enough Dave comes over both of your chests. You thrust into him deep a few more times until you feel yourself spill inside of him.

Your arms are heavy so you flop down onto Dave’s chest as he starts to run his finger through your hair.

You begin to pull out but he holds your shoulder.

"Feels empty," he sighs, "give me a moment." He runs his fingers over your spine for a minute. He wiggles his hips so you take it as a sign to pull out. You move to his side and lay on your back, rolling your shoulders as Dave plucks tissues from the box on his nightstand. He hands you a couple so you can clean yourself. 

You decide to throw them on the floor, you do not really feel like getting up.

You turn to his side and pull him close to your chest and snuggle into Dave's neck, sighing contently. 

"Satisfied, sir?" Dave murmurs with drowsiness.

"Don't call me that." You whisper into his neck.

"I'm just teasing.” He chuckles softly.

You kiss his neck and he leans his head on your shoulder. You can see him smiling with his eyes closed and holy fuck you actually care for this fucker. You tighten your arms around him and nuzzle his neck and he hums.

You start to feel a burning sensation on your arm. Your eyes snap open because you know you just fucked up.

"I think I just bonded you." You whisper to him.

"What did you say?" Dave turns his head slightly and lifts an eyebrow.

You’re holding your breath as you extend your arm in front of you and yes, just as suspected, a small clockwork tattoo with sharp angles has appeared around your forearm. Dave traces it with his finger and smiles. He lifts his own arm and shows you one with some dripping that look like blood and some curves that remind you of your sickle.

"Your first lay and already you've already bonded yourself?" He turns to look at you and smirks.

"I'm sorry I wasn't thinking straight, OK? I'll get my brother to break the bond or something. You can leave as soon as I find out how to destroy the link and the bond." You mutter. Why the hell must you fuck everything up. You’re pathetic. Bonding yourself to the first person that fucks you...

"Now why the fuck what I want that?" Dave says as he pulls you to his chest.

"You're a greater demon, descended from the first fucking guardians. I am master hunter, the best there can be after the ons on the first order. Don’t you think this is a bit stupid? Anyway, I figured you'd want to end this after you got what you wanted." You say as you look to the say, your jaw tense.

"This wasn't about sex, Karkat. I told you, I care for you. I feel attracted and connected to you. Stop trying to push me away, asshole." He smiles at you and even though you’ll never admit it, you feel your face heat up. You let him run his fingers through your hair as you trace the tattoo on his arm.

"What are we going to do? This is worse than West Side Story, it’s like modern Romeo and Juliet. In fact, it’s exactly like it! Only instead of Leo DiCaprio being a human, he’s a demon slayer. " You frown.

“Let me get this straight, I’m Claire Danes?” He quirks an eyebrow and you nod.

“Yes. I’m also fairly amused that you know who I’m talking about.” You smile as he shrugs.

“Yeah and I’m amused you watched West Side Story so what the fucker ever.”

“Come on Dave, we need to come up with a plan or something. Do you have any idea what we’re going to do?” He yawns. You feel your eyes getting heavy as well so you throw an arm over Dave and bury your face under his jaw.

"Beats me. We'll figure it out m'kay? We need to be careful or your friends will fucking cut me in half." He mutters and hugs your waist tighter.

"Won't let them. You're mine. My Dave..." You say as you close your eyes.

"My Karkat." Dave says as he drifts to sleep.

_Whatever happens, we're together._ You see the words rather than hear them. Well fuck. Mind bonding as well. This is going to be a cluster fuck of a party.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It feels a bit OOC but oh well. It is done. Daily updates, as you have all noticed, are now gone again but I promise the updates will me frequent because I have most of the following chapters finished up!  
> Again, if you have any question please send an ask to my [tumblr](http://adhdkarkatvantas.tumblr.com/).


	6. It's not you, It's me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you bind yourself to a demon, no one tells you what's actually going to happen. No one gives you instructions to work out the mental bond you have with this demon. How are you supposed to learn how to do this with no help? You can't exactly ask someone about... Oh wait. 
> 
> #Tw: This chapter has a giant wall of text  
> #Tw: And a giant pain in the ass

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, another chapter! Because I owed it.

You wake up to Dave gripping your waist tightly. He's not breathing and you panic for a moment until your basic training kicks in. Demons sleep like the dead, literally. That's why it's so easy to kill them when they're in this condition although they're rarely ever seen in such relaxed states. They're not stupid enough to be caught asleep. 

You run your hand through the white strands of his hair slowly trailing the tips of your fingers down to the side of his face and then to his jaw. His skin has a deep color, not olive like yours but tan, like caramel.  


You're bound to him or well, he's bound to you. You trace the pattern on his forearm and let yourself get lost in the intricate curves and designs of it. 

Your brothers binding mark wasn't so intricate, not so elaborate. Simple black lines and two purple zig-zag's went up his arm. Yours was much more complicated; different shaped gears that were framed by a silver line. Hints of red and black gave it color. It looped around your bicep three times. You'd have to look up why yours was much more intricate than your brothers. You open your palm to see your empathy mark; Dave’s symbol looks like it was burned into your palm while Kanaya's and your brothers look like stamp marks. 

You had been lost in thought for enough time to not notice the body under you inhale deeply. When your eyes returned to Dave's face, you were caught off guard as his eyes were staring at you.

"Mornin" He smiles lazily at you. His accent bleeds through and you smile back.

"Your eyes..." You mutter as your thumb softens under his eyes. They're not concealed; the bright red is a stark contrast against his black sclera. You've never seen a greater demons unconcealed eyes. They're incredibly shocking at first but they make him look mysterious.

"Sorry. I can hide them. I know they're unnerving to look at. Kinda sets the whole mood for those movies where you wake up in bed with a monster and the protagonist screams and all hell breaks loose in a literal sense, just some much shit goes down that in the end you have no clue what you were watching in the first place." he covers his face with his hand and you frown. You don’t want him to hide them, they look pretty great. You open your mouth to tell him this but instead you say: 

"Don't hide from me." You feel yourself blush as he lowers his hand and smiles. A real smile, timid even.

"Alright. But I can't go out like this, it'll be too obvious and you know how people feel about my kind."

"As if your pointed ears aren't obvious already." You roll your eyes.

"I hide my ears, OK? It's just very hard to remember them so I forget to conceal them." He pouts and you laugh. He's acting childish. 

"Whatever you say, Dave." You run your fingers through his soft blond hair and he nuzzles into your stomach.

"We need to shower." He says after a while. 

"Demons shower?" He’s the one to roll his eyes this time as he lifts himself on his elbow.

"Karkat, I'm a soulless asshole, not a pig. Come on, get up." He lifts himself off the bed and stretches his back, his tan skin stretching as he lifts his arms. He's toned in all the right places.

"Quit looking at my bod and get up." He says as he looks over his shoulder making your face heat up.

"Wasn't looking at you..."

"Uh-huh. Come on!" 

"I can't get up." You say as you run your hand through your hair. He smirks and crawls up to your chest.

"How come?" 

"I'm kinda sore?" You look away as he grins wider, “Don’t look at me like that, I had to use muscles I’ve never used before, give me a fucking break!” He stretches his neck to kiss you softly as he pats your thigh.

"OK, I'll take you." Before you can protest he picks you up and walks you both to the bathroom.

"Forgot demons were stronger than they look."

"You're forgetting a lot of things about demons. Weren't you a hunter? Not a real good one if you keep forgetting these basic things, huh?" You shove his shoulder lightly as he walks you into the bathroom.

___________________________________________________________

As you get close to the HQ building you feel a knot start to form in your throat. You are 100% aware that you are currently wearing one of Dave's shirts and have at least three more in your duffel bag. At least this time your thought ahead and showered before coming here. Dave also conveniently knew a guy who sells demon magical items so he managed to buy a spray-on that masked demon scents so at least you wouldn't be hazed in the fucking onion smelling cleanser.

"Mr. Vantas, I'm guessin' everythin' went as well as usual." Deuce says without looking up from a very big green book. 

"Yes, everything went fine. Glad to be home." You tell him. 

_Liar._ the words sound in your mind and you grit your teeth.

You clutch your bag harder and walk through the security systems without any problems. Not that you were expecting any after all that shit you sprayed on yourself.

You walk through the corridors and up the stairs organizing your thoughts a you walk into the dining room. You see Jade and John chatting and eating at one of the tables and you freeze at the entrance of the room.

Ugh goddammit, you really did _not_ want to talk to John right now.

 _I think you should tell him now. Hey John, I'm fucking a demon. He's great in the sack and much better than your pity bj's_ the words rush around in your head like if you he were right next to you.

"I thought the point of this stupid empathy link was to share our fucking feelings, not sneak around in my thoughts." You murmur to yourself. 

_Binding’s and empathy links are not the same, Karkat. The bond let’s me see what you see and vice-versa. But if feelings is what you want, fine._ you are suddenly filled with so much anger and spite towards John you want to go over and punch him straight in the jaw.

"Stop it!" 

"Stop what? I haven't done anything!" Roxy says at your side and you head snaps to her. 

"Just in case you were." You tell her a you heft your bag over your shoulder.

"Jeez, tense much? So how'd it go crab cakes, you find what you've been looking for?" She says a you walk towards the buffet area and pick a plate.

"Yeah, I think I did. I might need to go see Jane later on, I heard of a guy selling illicit potions and sprays to demons." You tell her as you fill your plate with pizza slices.

 _Not cool, man. I took you to Mituna's place to help you out, now you're gonna bust him? Lame._ You roll your eyes and concentrate on projecting the image of your middle finger.

"Oh dang, I'll inform Janey as soon as I can commander Vantas!" She salutes and you groan.

"Roxy if you're here to bug me please step the fuck off. I'm tired, hungry and I need a bath." You say a you walk over to an empty table.

"I'm not bugging you, I just wanted to know how you were! But yes, you do look thoroughly fucked." She tsks.

 _You can say that again._ You hear his voice and you repress a blush.

"So, are you ignoring John again? Ya know, Karkat things would be much easier if you break things off with him." She folds her hands under her chin. Your hand freezes as you take a slice of pizza.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" You say as you chew around your pizza.

"Oh em gee, you think I haven't noticed? How cute." She smiles and you suddenly feel really sick.

_Uh-oh. Busted._ You can almost here his snicker. 

"Notice what, Lalonde? I have no clue what you mean." 

"Oh Karkat. I'm a void slayer. I can feel truth or, the lack of it in this case. Void skills come in handy when making battle plans." She smiles smugly.

"Yeah, and what the fuck does that have to do with me?" You remark.

"You don't have feelings for John. You have feelings for someone else. Don't try to lie Karkat, you can't lie to me." 

"Fine, I don't have feelings for John. But I know for a fact he doesn't either. I can also feel it." You say as you devour another pizza.

"I know. So just tell him. Both of you keep tip-toeing around the subject and honestly, it's hella awkward. So just tell him you like someone else." She shrugs.

"Fine I'll talk to him but you're wrong about the other part. I do not have feelings for anyone else."

 _Ouch, harsh._ you actually wince at the hurt in Dave's words. 

"Alright, sure you don't. Hey, I'll let you have dinner in piece OK? I'm gonna go tell Janey what you found out." She stands up and wraps her purple scarf around her neck again. "Oh and btw, nice shirt Karkat." She winks at you and walks out of the room.

 _You think she knows?_ Dave's voice floats around in your head.

"I don't know." You whisper.

 _FYI, dumbass. This bond works_ both _ways. You don't have to answer out loud. Just close your eyes and follow the trail._ So you do as he says.

You close your eyes and feel his voice around your mind, you can practically see it. Like a bright red glowing trail. You concentrate on tugging at it and you're suddenly able to _see_ things through Dave's eyes. Yours snap open in astonishment. The feeling is incredibly intimate. You feel so close to him, you can _see_ him. His fingers are lazily pulling at some guitar strings.

_Mindblowing, am I right?_

_I'll say..._

 _Heads up, someone is coming to talk to you babe. You might need to practice being in two places at once._ You can practically feel him smirk and suddenly you're eye are refocused in your reality.

“So Karkat, how did it go?” John is looking at you with his dopey smile. His black hair isn’t combed and he’s wearing a dark blue hoodie that contrast with his bright blue eyes.  
You feel suddenly feel very jealous. Fuck these stupid bonds.

 _Just quit it, I’m not even thinking about him._ You practically scream the words in your mind.

You don’t get an answer.

“Why the hell does everyone feel the need to come and ask me about my tasks? I’ve been outside by myself before, I’m not a rookie. Fucking assholes just keep waiting for me to fuck up so they can rub it in my face.”

“Hehe gee Karkat, you just keep walking out of this place like you’re sneaking off so we were worried! You’d tell me what you’re up to right?” He tips his head to the side and wow, he looks genuinely concerned. You remember why you used to like John, he always seemed to care. It made you happy, you hadn't been really happy talking to much people before him.

A sudden image of your head thrown back in utter bliss and moaning Dave’s name fills your head.

_DAVE, STOP._

“I’ve just wanted to have some time to myself. It’s getting close to _that_ day and it’s going to be around eight years so I’ve been thinking about my life, OK?” You decide to use one of the lines you’ve seen in your movies when the character decides to lie to their best friends. You are the protagonist in this case.

“Oh, I see. I’m sorry Karkat. I’d say you should talk to Kanaya but you know what she’ll say.” He smiles sadly and shrugs.

“Yeah I know.”

“I’ll let you have some time on your own, OK?” He smiles and you watch as he stands. Well, it’s now or never.

“Wait, John.” He stills and looks at you.

“What’s up?” 

“We need to talk.” You recite the single line you’ve heard and read a million times.

“Are you breaking up with me?” John asked in the most boring manner ever.

“John, really? Is that what you’re going to start with?” You roll your eyes.

“I know, I know! I just want to confirm it so I can stop feeling ba- Uh.” He looks to the side and scratches his neck awkwardly, “Look Karkat…”

“I know, John. You don’t love me.” You huff.

“No! I mean I do, but-”

“I know John! You don’t love me in _that_ way. Blood hunter, remember?” He literally facepalms.

“Whoops, you must have felt that since… Damn. I’m sorry, Karkat. I know you might…” He gestures to the space between you two.

“Don’t worry, Egbert. I figured out my feelings for you and decided I don’t love you romantically either. I’ve kind of been avoiding you because of that?” You give him your most sorry look.

“Heh, no worries, dude. To be honest, so was I. I’m glad we cleared this all out. I kind of have to go see Terezi right now sooo… See you later?” He starts walking backwards towards the entrance and you wave at him.

That went much better than expected. You weren’t sure what you were exactly expecting but you always make the worst of situations so your imagination might have gone a little overboard.

You sigh, shake your head and decide to head to your room, you need to talk to someone. But first, another plate of pizza. This conversation was going to run you dry.

______________________________________________________________

carcinoGeneticist [CG] began trolling  chattyGenocide [CG]

CG: I HAVEN'T MESSAGED YOU IN A LONG TIME

CG: That w9uld 6e an understatement. It has 6een ten years since I received a message fr9m y9u/ I was h9nestly quite surprised t9 see y9ur name appear 9n pesterchum. Is it t99 presumpti9ns 9f me t9 assume y9u called t9 say hell9 9r t9 schedule an 9uting s9 we can catch up 9n all these years we have 6een apart? Alth9ugh if I'm 6eing h9nest with y9u I will say I have 6een keeping an eye 9ut f9r y9u. D9 n9t think I kn9w y9u can pr9tect y9urself, n9. I merely did this s9 I c9uld 6e in t9uch with y9u in s9me way 9r an9ther. That is t9 say, actually kn9w what y9u are up t9. I ap9l9gize if this seems like I was trailing behind y9u, I really was n9t.

CG: THIS IS WHY I NEVER TALK TO YOU

CG: YOU SPOUT INCREDIBLE AMOUNTS OF EYE ROTTING TEXT AND IT JUST HITS ME LIKE A WALL

CG: I’M GOING TO IGNORE THE FACT YOU HAVE STALKER TENDENCIES AND JUST GET TO THE FUCKING POINT

CG: I NEED TO ASK YOU ABOUT YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH AMPORA

CG: As I said 6ef9re, I d9 n9t have "stalker tendencies." I th9ught I made it clear, Karkat. N9w t9 answer y9ur questi9n, I have 9nly met Eridan a c9uple 9f times and it neither 9f th9se times are well remem6ered. He's n9t particular f9nd 9f his kin si6ling, m9st likely due t9 the fact that he is well against th9se 9f 9ur kind, the hunters. He sees us as s9me s9rt 9f human p9lice 9r cult patr9ls. It's quite 9ffensive t9 say the least

CG: ARE YOU ACTUAL THIS STUPID OR ARE YOU JUST TRYING TO BE FUNNY?

CG: IF SO, LET ME DEMONSTRATE THE APPROPRIATE REACTION

CG: "HA-HA"

CG: Karkat please d9 n9t call me stupid 9r anything demeaning like that, it is very 9ffensive

CG: I’M GUESSING YOU REALLY WEREN'T KIDDING

CG: OK

CG: I MEANT THE OTHER AMPORA

CG: YOUR *KIN MATE*

CG: 9h y9u meant Cr9nus? Kat, I really think y9u sh9uld at least start t9 warm up t9 the idea that me and Cr9nus are in a relati9nship. Y9u c9uld at least make an eff9rt in using his name. 9h, and he d9es n9t like it when pe9ple menti9n 9r reference his dem9n 6l99d s9 it w9uld 6e nice 9f y9u t9 refrain fr9m calling him my kinder sprit. Even th9ugh it is the c9rrect term f9r 9ur relati9nship, we have agreed t9 settle 9n the human w9rd "69yfriends" s9 we c9uld av9id triggering him. Please d9 try t9 understand. 

CG: HOW ABOUT NO

CG: H9nestly Karkat s9metimes I f9rget h9w y9ung y9u are. Even th9ugh 9ur hunter 6l99d gives us extended life peri9ds, y9u are still a kid fr9m 9ur standards, y9u can 6e c9mpared t9 an 18 year 9ld human. Y9ur 6ehavi9r is s9 childish.

CG: FIRST OF ALL, FUCK YOU.

CG: SECOND OF ALL, YOU'RE ONLY A FEW YEARS OLDER THAN ME.

CG: WERE GETTING OFF THE GODDAMN POINT!

CG: YOU DERAILED THIS CONVERSATION INTO A PLANE OF NON EXISTENTIAL MATTERS SO PLEASE DO ME A FAVOR AND ANSWER MY FUCKING QUESTION

CG: Alright I will keep my "walls 9f text" t9 a minimum. Y9u inquire a69ut my relati9nship with Cr9nus. I will have t9 ask y9u t9 6e m9re specific a69ut this rather than just asking a general questi9ns, their are many t9pics that c9uld 6e appr9ached with such a 6r9ad questi9n.

CG: UGH FUCK OK

CG: HOW DID YOU

CG: SHIT THIS IS FUCKING STUPID

CG: FORGET IT

CG: N9, n9. C9me n9w, 6r9ther. Please 6e direct with y9ur questi9ns, I will n9t judge y9u f9r any inquiries y9u have. I might 6e a6le t9 quench y9ur curi9us mind. I will try t9 answer them as 6est as I can given that I have the kn9wledge t9 talk a69ut the t9pic, that is 

CG: HOW DID YOU GET BONDED TO CRONUS?

CG: Except that 9ne.

CG: NO FUCK YOU, YOU SAID I COULD ASK WHATEVER I WANTED TO AND YOU WOULD ANSWER SO NOW ANSWER YOU ASSHOLE

CG: Karkat, Language. I find it triggering t9 see such disrespectful w9rds thr9wn at my pers9na.

CG: ANSWER THE GODDAMN QUESTION, *KANNY*

CG: Karkat, the 6inding pr9cess 6etween a hunter and a dem9n is kn9wn t9 all wh9 study 9ur laws and hist9ry. Y9u kn9w what it inv9lves.

CG: I WANT TO KNOW HOW *YOU* DID IT THOUGH

CG: Why such curi9sity as t9 h9w I came t9 6ind myself with Cr9nus? I assure y9u, we went thr9ugh the same pr9cess every9ne wh9's ever g9tten 69und g9es thr9ugh. Y9u've seen my markings, y9u kn9w h9w it is.

CG: DID SOMETHING IN PARTICULAR HAVE TO HAPPEN FOR YOU TO BIND WITH HIM? WAS IT A CONSCIOUS DECISION?

CG: What are y9u getting at exactly, Kat?

CG: DID YOU HAVE SEX WITH CRONUS AND ACCIDENTALLY BIND HIM?

CG: H9w did y9u

CG: I mean, Karkat that is very private inf9rmati9n and I d9 n9t think I can answer that. The matters 9f 9ur private life are in n9 way any 9f y9ur 6usiness.

CG: SO THAT'S A YES

CG: ...Yes

CG: OK GREAT THAT SOLVES THE MYSTERY. THANKS BUT NO THANKS SHERLOCK HOLMES YOU CAN GO FUCK YOURSELF BECAUSE I'VE SOLVED THE MYSTERY

CG: Karkat what is this a69ut?

CG: 9h dear g9d, Karkat did y9u and David

CG: HIS NAME IS DAVE.

CG: Karkat I swear 6y the first 9rder. Did y9u and Dave... Are y9u 69und t9 Dave?

CG: SORRY KAN GOT TO GO, KANAYA NEEDS TO SPEAK TO ME BYE.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] has disconnected.

CG: KARKAT VANTAS Y9U ARE IN 6IG TR9U6LE.

CG: #Tw: Caps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, next chapter will be up by Friday, I hope. I also know Kankri has been a bit OOC for this fic but I just don't like to write him as uptight and annoying as everyone thinks he is! Both Vantas are my sons so I must make them lovable, I am sorry.


	7. Karkat Vantas vs The world

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You've watched a million movies that could've hinted you on something like this. Of course, you did not heed said warnings because your life is not a goddamn movie. You were not the hero that's going to stop the world from going upside down crazy, you were not going to get the girl and you were certainly not going to have a death match with the British villain. Because none of that happens in real life. No one is born into the role of heroes, heroes save worlds and prevent wars. You slay demons and cause hate. You couldn't be the hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually spellchecked everything three times. I'm going to be mad if I find an error later.   
> I'm putting out chapters faster than I can write them! I keep saying I'm going to write shorter chapters and I end up writing 2K words or so... I'm sorry?

You slam your laptop closed before your brother starts to reprimand you. He's probably losing his shit right now but you don't really care.  
Kanaya really _is_ here and you think she does need to speak to you. You shuffle around in your room before she knocks again.

"I can come by later if you'd like." She says behind the door. You walk over to it and swing it open.

"Sorry, I was just busy trying to organize my desk." You say to her as you let her inside.

"Karkat, again? I've told you it looks fine, no need to move things around for no reason." She walks over to your bed and sits on the edge. 

"I thought you said pantyhose were out of style." You comment as she crosses her legs. She's wearing a dark green long-sleeved shirt with a black skirt and black pantyhose. 

"Not when they're black, dear. They go well with skirts, no that you even care about this but thank you for pretending you do." She smiles and you grunt. Yeah, you're trying to distract her but she isn't having any of it. You decide to keep unpacking your clothes.

"Well you like as nice as always, Kanaya." You try to take the flattering way, she usually appreciates your effort in complementing her.

"Thank you, Karkat. I always try my best." She seems as reluctant as you to initiate the conversation you _know_ was going to take place.

As you pulled out your bag of personal belongings, she started to take out clothes from your duffel bag, folding them neatly on the bed and tossing the ones she knew were dirty into your small hamper.  
Neither of you said anything as you cleaned your room and folded your clothes. It was an old routine you had established every time she needed to talk to you about important matters, aka probably get into a fight because of your stubborn behavior.  
You see her linger on folding one of Dave's shirts. She smooths out the flannel shirt, closes the buttons with languid movements and folds the collar correctly before laying it on top of the pile of previously folded shirts.

You don't say anything but you unconsciously tug on the sleeves of the plaid shirt you are wearing. It's open, underneath it is a grey t-shirt with Dave's favorite band on it. You know she's already noticed it also isn't yours. You decide to play dumb and continue to put your things away. 

As you're hanging your weapons belt, you hear her sigh quietly. 

"What?" You snap at her.

"Excuse me?" You turn to look at her and she’s raising an eyebrow. She looks as pissed as you feel.

_Calm down._ his voice is accompanied by a soothing feeling but you shake your head to clear your thoughts.

_Fuck. Off._

_Karkat._ He sounds commanding.

_Shut up!_

“Well?” Kanaya stands up and squeezes the shirt in her hand.

“I know you came here to scream at me or fucking scold me for something so go ahead, Kanaya. Act like you’re my fucking mom!” She looks taken aback but she quickly regains her frown.

“Do not raise your voice at me! What are you getting into, Karkat? You comeback with small bruises and scratches but you claim you did not have any encounters with rogue demons. It’s been months since you’ve actually sent one to the medium! You don’t talk to any of us and you keep sneaking out! Spades said-”

“I don’t fucking care what he said or he didn’t say. This is my fucking life, I can do what I want! I’ve given my life to this god forsaken team, I have a right to go and come as I please. I don’t need to answer to any of you shitheads. Porrim gave me permission and that’s all I care. She’s the one I respond to, not to Jade, not to John, not to Roxy and certainly not to _you_! So will you lay off me for a fucking second?” 

“I am only worried of what you are getting yourself into! Karkat, if you are going back to those horrible arenas just to prove-”

“Oh fuck no, it has nothing to do with that.” You cross your arms and look away from her.

“Well if it is not something as bad as that, why do you keep lying to me? Have I ever done something to lose your trust?I’ve just been getting weird feelings about everything.” She clutches the shirt harder. You feel horrible for doing this to her.

“It’s complicated, Kanaya. Ugh fuck, I know those are the lamest words that a person can utter but it’s true. Things have changed for me. I don’t see everything black and white anymore, more like black, white and mixtures of grey all over…” You sigh.

“You sound a lot like… _Him_.” She doesn’t say his name. She never does. She tries to save you from the painful memory but you still cringe.

You feel anger rise in your throat but you can’t act on it. Who are you angry at, her or _him_. Your jaw tenses and you ball your hands into fists. She still had no right to compare you to him. 

“I’m nothing like him. I didn’t leave his family.” You grit through your teeth and she presses her lips together.

“You know why he had to, he told you that one day you would fight for both sides. One day you would be part of something bigger than just this order, you would help unite both sides.” She glares at you as your snort.

“That’s utter bullshit, Kanaya. I can’t believe you fell for that crap. There are no fucking seer’s alive and he claims he spoke to one, it’s so fucking stupid!” You sneer. 

“Why are you so thickheaded? He was not the one who consulted with the seer, I was!” 

“You don’t know any seers, you would have told me.” You suddenly feel panicked. Why do you feel panicked?

“I did not inform you about my knowledge of this seer to protect her. I did not want her to be sent away.” She looks away and bites her lip.

“Protect her from who?”

“From you, from Porrim. From our team. You have read what they did to the seers back in the time of the uprising. I did not want her to get hurt.” 

“Kanaya, seers are powerful demons… You are aware you were meeting with one?” Her face tinges with pink and suddenly you feel like an idiot for hiding from her. You understand.

“...You loved her.” 

“I still do.” She whispers as she sits back on your bed. You’re actually shocked but you walk awkwardly to sit at her side to provide some comfort. Whatever comfort _you_ can provide, that is.

“I cut it off with her because I knew how everyone would react, how everyone would want to lay claim on her if they knew of her abilities. It was hard, it _is_ hard. Even now. I can barely see her, barely speak to her. She has kept her life hidden from me to protect those who she cares about in case she was ever discovered. Karkat, I know this is not right from your standards but you must understand, one does not choose who to love.” Her voices cracks at the end of the sentence. Tears slowly run down her face and she dabs at them quickly.

“I know, Kan. I know what it’s like.” You whisper as you clutch your arm. She looks up at you curiously.

“What do you mean, Karkat?” You sigh and run your fingers through your hair. What do you do now?

_Tell her. She’s told you more than what you’ve told her all these months, dude. She deserves to know._

_I’m afraid._ You tell him. 

_I know, so am I. But she will help us, I know it._ He sounds confident and you don’t know why but you decide to trust him.

“Kanaya, I think it might be easier to show than to explain.” 

“Our link is broken, you cannot show me much.” She sighs.

“I know it is and I’m sorry about that. It was a fuck up on my part, I wasn’t thinking clearly. Kanaya, promise me you won’t fucking flip your shit out and act batshit crazy when I show you,” You huff when she glares at you, “I mean it.”

“Karkat please, when have I ever- Oh mother of god.” You slip the plaid long-sleeve shirt off and show her your binding tattoo. 

Her hand is covering her mouth and she hasn’t moved an inch for about five minutes. You tap your foot impatiently and groan.

“Kanaya will you fucking say something?” 

“Then I suppose it has begun.” She whispers and you look at her quizzically.

“Kanaya if those aren't the vaguest most eeriest words you have ever said then I really need to listen to you more often.” You roll your eyes as she touches the silver line on your arm.

“Karkat, this is what she showed me. This is how the revolution starts. You bonded yourself to a higher demon, one with great power over his kind.” 

“Jesus fuck, Kanaya you sound like one of those old women from the movies who are informing the hero about his great journey.” You snicker and she frowns at you.

“This is not a joke, Karkat! Things are about to happen and you are going to be in the goddamn center of it all. I suggest you start taking your role serious!” She snaps at you. 

“OK, fuck sorry! I’ll take this legendary quest and defeat the bad guy. Save the princess and the world all while I manage my social life because that’s just who I am. The hero that will free us all of this fucking cluster-fuck of a legal system.” You pretend to raise a sword over your head. She punches your shoulder.

_Well I thought it was fucking hilarious, bro._ he snickers and you smile.

_I know, I write epic novels for fun._

_You do?_

_Fuck no!_ you chuckle and Kanaya frowns at you.

“This is by all means anything but funny, Karkat. I am quite sure Dave also finds all of this hilarious but it is indeed serious. He should know.” She crosses her legs and you gape at her.

_How does she-_

“How the fuck do you know? I’ve been careful.”

“The seer? Her name is Rose, she is Dave’s kin sibling. She saw all of this happen ten years ago.” 

_Mother fucking plot twist._

“I’ll say...” You murmur

“I’m sorry?” 

“No, not you just,” You wave absentmindedly at your head and she smiles.

“Bonds are quite incredible. Tell him I said hi.”

“He can hear you. He sees and hears what I see.” You shrug.

“Oh yes of course, I read about that. Silly me. I take it he is the one who broke our empathy link?” You nod, “Mmm, yes I figured as much. Well seeing as though you both are bound to each other, I do not think he will mind if we establish our link again. It will not affect your bond so I see no harm in putting it up again.” You look at her through half-lidded eyes.

“You seem to be really up to date with all of these shenanigans. How long have you fucking known?” 

“Well I was not sure but I have had my doubts for a while. Our link being severed was what made me positive something was going on but I was still not 100% sure. Please do remember I have been expecting for this to happen for many years so I have always been on the look at for signs.” She seems smug when she says this.

“So what now, quest leader, when does the whole world start to fall apart?” 

“Oh dear, you know the whole system has begun to fall apart already;The ancient ones are not happy with the way we have been running things. They believe the demon society poses a threat to their ways. The elder guardians, the demon equivalent of nobility, has been wanting to eradicate us since the first demons made a pact with the prima race of hunters to share the burden of keeping the world in order. Clans of demons have been forced to choose sides. Soon our unities will also need to pick a side. The cult stands in the middle of this, trying to prevent a war they _know_ will take place if the two races are not united. It is like a giant bomb, waiting to be lit and explode.” 

“I think I’m going to be sick…” You cover your mouth in an attempt to stop yourself from losing your meal.

_I felt the same when I found out about this don’t worry._

_You knew about this? You knew we’d meet and start up a fucking revolution? This isn’t fucking happening, I am_ not _John Conner. My life isn't a movie, this is not Terminator!._

_More film references, God. But to answer your question, no, I didn’t know you’d be the one. But I knew I would meet the person one day. That’s why I tried to fight against it, I didn't feel like being fucking hero Karkat. I didn’t want to go through all that shit. So I tried to fall for the one person I knew couldn’t be involved in any of this goddamn mess. Funny how it worked out._

_So now you_ are _a hero? Now we’re going to lead our people to freedom and that bullshit?_ You roll your eyes.

_All I know is that shit is gonna happen and we need to be ready_. 

“This is all just stupid. How am I supposed to figure this all out? I’m not exactly keeping an agenda to prevent a war. It’s like every time things stir up, a Vantas has to be involved. I’m not sure if we’re all just too thick headed to stay out of all of it or we have a curse. This is ridiculous. What happens now?” You let your head fall in your hands and Kanaya pats your back.

“It is alright, Karkat. Things will happen in due time and when they do, you will be ready.”

“Did your seer girlfriend tell you this?” 

“She is not my girlfriend and she did not have to, I already know this.” You look up to her smiling face and sigh.

“Fine. One step at a time I guess.” You groan and pinch the bridge of your nose.

“Yes, although step one might be the hardest for you I suppose.” She lifts herself from your side and smooths her skirt out.

“What’s step one?” You ask as she places the shirt she’s been clutching on your bed.

“Step one always involves family. Have you talked to Kankri recently or seen him by any chance?” She looks like she already knows the answer.

“Your witchy girlfriend is good.” she blushes and walks to the door.

“She is _not_ my girlfriend, Karkat. Please do not address her in that matter she might think I have been lying about her.”

“Right, because she doesn’t know what going between both of you in the future.” You chuckle and just purses her lips.

“She is a seer not a fortune teller.” She huffs.

“What the fuck ever. What’s step two if I’m done with step one?” You lean back on your elbows as you watch her open the door to your room to exit.

“You are not done with step one. You still need to talk to one more person.” She smiles that devious smile that makes you groan. 

“Hell no, I won’t do it. I quit, give this burden to some other self sacrificing asshole who gets off on trying to save the world from chaos.”

“I am afraid that is not how things work. You must meet with him this week. I will inform Porrim of your absence. You might want to pack a bigger bag this time. Oh, and Dave might want to accompany you. He will be most excited. I will see you later, Karkat. Before you leave, remember to say goodbye.” She gives you a small wave before walking out and closing the door.

You groan and let yourself fall back on the bed. You rub your eyes and sigh loudly.

_What did she mean by that? Where are we going and who are we meeting?_ You decide to ignore him for a moment as you try to establish the bond with him.

You concentrate on the familiar pull that let’s you feel Dave closer to you, sighing contently once you feel that shiver go down your spine. You open your eyes and are met with your reflection, or rather, _his_ reflection. He isn’t concealed to look human right now; his eyes are red and bright, his sharp teeth look longer than they usually do. Their normal size, you assume. Nails long and clawed, red pointed tail whips around and your eyes flicker to the dark red wings behind him.

_No horns?_ you ask him.

“I look like a monster already, fucking Halloween all up in this bitch. Do you think the horns are even necessary?” You feel his lips move like if they were your own.

_I guess not. But you don’t look like a monster, Dave. Not to me._

“Mmm-hmm. So, what did Kanaya mean when she said we were going to meet someone? She kind of lost me with all her “digidestined” crap.” 

_Her what?_

“Man, you never watched digimon? What a shame. It’s not important. Come on, fill me in on the whole leader of the rebellion agenda.” His wings flutter behind him as a gust of wind comes in through the window.

_I’m not going to be a leader! Ugh anyway… Are you familiar with the leader of The Cult?_ You really hope he says no.

“Yeah duh, who isn’t?” 

_Well, good. Pack nice clothes, they say he likes people to be presentable._

“Are you serious? Can people even talk to him like on normal terms now? I didn’t know that was thing.”

_Unfortunately for me, I know his son. I’m already dreading this meeting and it hasn’t even happened._

“Dude I am so ready to meet him. Now get out of my mind, I need to shower.” Your vision gets blurry and you blink a couple of times only to be looking back up to your own ceiling.

“Dave, you realize I’ve seen you naked, right?” You roll your eyes.

_Man, be decent. I’m gonna shower._ You hear him snicker and then he’s gone.

You sigh and lift yourself from your bed. You decide to start packing, no point in not. Kanaya seemed pretty confident in being able to make an excuse for your sudden absence. 

You walk up to your drawers and pull out your old journal, where you keep an old picture. As you look at it you feel anger rise again so you shove it back inside the journal and shut it.

You are not ready for this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so just to be clear, not all the chapters are going to be from Karkat's POV because I've left too many questions with characters and/or pairings that need to connect with Karkat's story.   
> Specifically Cronus/Kankri, Dirk/Jake and Rose/Kanaya although I might just add them separate parts of a series, I'm not sure which is better. 
> 
> If you have any preference as to which you'd like to read first you can leave it in the comments and chances are, I'll write that pairings story first.


	8. Deep Sea Demons... and Kankri

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kankri and Cronus have known about the events that have started to unravel for several years. It's no surprise when they receive the visit of a certain gill who wants to know the reel-ality of all the seatuation that everyone's been blubbering about.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter serves as a connector to all the events Kanaya explained to Karkat in the chapter before. If anyone had questions, I hope they get answered here.

The streets of the city are incredibly annoying at some points. You have never been one for major cities, always preferred quiet towns instead. You're only here because of Cronus. He likes the bright lights, it is like his substitute for the sun. And while it is known that demons can indeed withstand sunlight, it is also known that the vast majority of their kind is nocturnal. 

"Kanny, you mind if I get us some coffee here? Looks like our usual spot ain't open." Hey points at a shop a few feet away and notice that indeed, the place is closed.

"I suppose this will do. After all, coffee is coffee wherever it comes from." You shrug but you really do not like changing coffee shops.

"You sure? We can make some at home if you prefer it. We still got that mix ya dad sent us from his trip." He squeezes your hand and you nod. Preferably something you know than something else entirely. Nodding, you smile and he smiles back. He knows all your quirks, the things that make you uncomfortable just like you know his. 

He tugs your hand making way back to your apartment. Luckily the coffee shop was just around the corner of your apartment so you didn't waste much time coming to see if it was open, you were not in a mood to back-travel great distances.

Chilled air makes you shiver into your coat and Cronus slips his arm around your shoulder. It's a simple gesture but you remember a few years ago where this would make you sputter and lash out at him. 

"You awfully quiet there, chief. Somethin' on your mind?" He flicks his cigarette butt away and steps on it. You frown at him and he rolls his eyes so he picks it up and throws it into one of the cities public trash cans.

"Thank you, Cronus. You do understand that those are highly contaminant, right? Having it roll around in the city streets is a hazard. They do not decompose correctly and it could be years before it is correctly disposed of. It could fall into the water system and pollute the liquid making it even harder to cleanse it. It's not like it isn't harmful to begin with, cigarettes are dangerous from the moment they are purchased! Giving money to an industry who knows will have you hooked on these life-ending sticks of- mmph!" His lips make yours still for a second and while you find it quite rude that he's interrupted your explanation over the dangers of addictive products, you can't help but sigh against his lips and sag a little into his arms. It's one of those disarming kisses where his lips move slowly against your own, his fingertips resting gently under your jaw, his eyes closed and his body close to your own. It is intimate in the best ways and even though your mind is screaming "#Tw: PDA" you decide to ignore it in favor of replacing it with the warmth of Cronus' chest as you wrap your arms around his neck.

"Well I'm glad I didn't get lectured for kissin' ya in public this time," you roll your eyes at him as you place your trail you fingers against the back of his neck. He visibly jumps and you chuckle, "Shit Kankri, ya hands feel like you dipped ‘em in cold water! I don't get why you’re always freezing your limbs off."

"Yes, I don't know why I'm always the one walking around like a living ice cube. You don't even wear all the clothing I do and still, you are warmer than me." You lay your head on his shoulder as he wraps his arms around your waist.

"So I asked around and found a place that cuts hair, ya know so you could maybe check it out of you like? Personally, I think you look great like this but hey I'm down with whatever look you choose to sport." He shrugs and you pap his cheek.

"Yes, it definitely has been some time since I've had a proper trim but I think I have gotten used to this style of hair. Just as you have started getting used to wearing those contact lenses, it's a change in style I suppose. I might try it out for a few more weeks. I hope this doesn't look so untidy of me since I'm practically neglecting my hair at the moment by tying it up like this." You reach up to your hair to tuck in a few strands of hair.

"Not at all, Kanny. I like this look on you, makes you look hot." He whispers in your ear making you blush.

"Cronus, please. Although it's flattering I would appreciate it if you kept those comments to a minimum. Why, someone could-"

"It's alright doll, there ain't no harm in calling you hot. Would you prefer sexy? 'Cause I'd say you look quite sexy like this as well." His voice purrs in your ear and you shiver. 

“Cronus please, not in public. Anyone could hear and think ill of us. Contrary to popular belief, we are not two love-struck fools running away from our families. Please, try not to give people any more reason to believe so.” You tell him but make no move to remove his hands from your waist. Yes, the vast majority of the time you acted like an uptight snooty man with higher concerns for morals than your own father but you were not so high-strung all the time. You were a demi-sexual, non-binary ex-hunter with enough morals to be considered uptight but not overwhelming. Cronus on the other hand was a pansexual pretty boy with enough morals to be considered well, decent. Although you won’t lie to yourself, when his voice grew deep and whispered in your ear the most seductive words, you can’t help but get a little flustered. 

“Kanny, baby. You listenin’ to me?” He stops in front of you with his head tipped to the side and wow, oh dear. You want to kiss him.

“I’m sorry, Cronus. I seemed to have lost myself in my inner thoughts. I have missed what you have said completely.” You feel embarrassed for not listening to him.

“Nah, it’s alright, Kan. Wasn’t sayin’ anythin’ important. You mind tellin’ the class what made you get so caught up in that big brain of yours?”

“Uh well you see I, and I hope this isn’t at all triggering, I was thinking that maybe you could give me another kiss?” You rub your hands together and look to the side. The street is lit by lamps on the sidewalk, generally no one is passing by since your street is one of the less crowded in all the city and it’s fairly late. There is nothing wrong with asking for a kiss, right? Cronus gives you a side smile and walks closer to you.

“Sure, chief. One kiss, right away-”

“Wait,” you hold your hand up to his chest and he pauses. You are very happy he still keeps his distance with you. Even though you asked him for said kiss, in the moment you tell him to stop or wait, he does just that. You clear your throat, “I’d like for the kiss to be, well, deep. Please don’t go overboard, I’d just like it to last more than a few seconds. Is that… understandable? I am so sorry if I have failed to explain myself.” More fidgeting on your part. You look down to your cold hands and shuffle your feet feeling slightly embarrassed.

He doesn't answer, instead, you feel his warm fingertips touch the edge of your jaw and he slowly lifts your face to his. His movements are slow and deliberate, he’s taking his own time and allowing you to step back if you want to stop but you are quite sure you don’t. You tilt your head to the side and close your eyes. You can feel his breath hovering over your lips, sweet and tinged with remnants of the red lollipop he was sucking on before you left your apartment. His lips touch yours, no pressure at all as you feel him wrap an arm around your waist, the other remains on your face, cupping your cheek.

You sigh against his lips and he moves them with no rush against your own. The push and pull of his mouth makes you relax in his arms. You wrap your arms around his shoulders, careful not to break your bubble of peace by making him shriek with your cold fingers.  
His lips capture your own in between his and he starts to give it small nibbles that make you melt in his chest. He’s careful not to do more to avoid upsetting you but you indeed _want_ more.  
Just a little.

So you carefully poke your tongue out and swipe at his bottom lip and he opens his mouth just enough for you to mimic his actions and he’s already coaxing your tongue out to meet his. You probe at his sharp shark-like teeth, the mark that identifies him as a lesser demon, careful not to cut yourself which most of the time is unavoidable. You gasp when he swipes his tongue over the roof of your mouth. His mouth moves over to nip at your jaw, making his way down with slow movements.

“Cronus~” You sigh his name as he starts to kiss your neck and alright, this is getting too hot and heavy to be a casual kiss, maybe you should- oh he just moved away.

“Kan, maybe we should go home?” He sounds breathless. You nod as he kisses your cheek once again and pulls you to your building.

As you get close to the entrance, you tense up to see a figure standing on the steps. Cronus’ eyes flicker to the person standing their with a quirked eyebrow.

“So it’s true. You hooked in deep sea shit with hunter bouy over here?” She walks down the stairs to face you both. Cronus holds you close and you press yourself in his side. She looks you both up and down as if assessing your conditions to battle with her. You’re glad you still carry your weapon around with you.

“Yo, Meenah. What brings ya over in this part of town? Aren’t ya usually in shittier parts of the city.” Cronus jokes but you can feel his tension as he speaks. His voice slips into that sea demon accent you haven’t heard in a long time.

 _What does she want, Cronus?_ you ask him with worry but your face remains impassive.

 _I’m not sure, doll. Just keep calm, this ain’t our first rodeo._ You squeeze his hand and he squeezes back. The movement doesn't pass unnoticed by Meenah who looks down at your interlocked fingers.

“You reely need to get new jokes. Don’t be acting all high and mighty when _you_ grew up in the same plaice I did. Just cuz yous got yourself a pristine lil’ hunter don’t make you any better.” She smiles and you can see her gills as she adjusts her jacket. Cronus and Meenah go way back; they’ve know each other since they were born. Deep sea demons that control the bay areas with the merchandise they ship around the world. The sea theme around them explains Meenah’s need to speak with nautical expressions.

“Meenah, I ain’t standin’ around here to exchange petty insults with ya. What’s your business over here? And please be direct about it, I’ve got things to do and I honestly don’t want any blood on my hands today.”

“Hah! I ain’t here to look for a fight, Ampora. Just think of me as a… Messenger gill. I’ve come to deliver a message from ya ol’ man.” Cronus’ jaw tenses.

“Yeah, and what’s dear ol’ pop gotta say to me?” 

“Somefin’s startin’ to stir in the sea, Cronus. The Elders are throwin’ around words like “war” and “conquer” so you gotta know what that means. Your ol’ man just wanted to warn ya. He says he still ain’t OK with you and the blood slaya’ but he says you still his fry so it’s his job to infoam ya, ya know?”

“We’ve known this was coming and we even tried to warn him.” Up until now you have been merely observing the exchange between the two Sea Demons but this matter she has begun to speak about concerns you as well.

“Yeah, I know somefin fishy has been cookin’ so now we wanna know. Kankri, yeah? The scar wants to know your take on this.” She nods her head towards you and Cronus rolls his eyes.

“Yes well-”

“And keep it breef, we ain’t got a tuna time for you given us a godclam lecture. Yeah, I know about your endless rants so don’t look so surprised.” You click your tongue and she winks.

“Of course, I’ll be quick then. Yes, indeed you are correct when you say something is going to happen but it’s been stirring for a couple of years. As Cronus has told you before, he has already tried to inform Orphaner, excuse my use of his name but I feel I am not acquainted enough with him to call him “scar”, many times before of the situation that is upon us. Indeed, the leaders of my kind and the nobles of your kind have begun to grow tired of waiting for each of our races to destroy the other.” You pause to look at Meenah who is sitting on the steps of your building looking at you like your telling a story.  
“The problem with all of this is that, while the first demons and the prima race of hunters do not consider each other threats or rivals, the leaders, our representatives do. The Nobility of Demons and the First Order have despised each other for many years which is why the uprising began under false reasons. We were fed by our controlling governors that the reason for the uprising had been equality for the races. Union of humans, hunters and demons but that was a lie to cover up the fact that hunters and demons were trying to subdue one another. The Cult, the human representatives which my great great grandfather founded, decided to mediate between the two races and make them form a truce thus the creation of the medium. Demons would be respected and accepted as part of society, given that they respect the hunters laws and stay clear from uses of black magic and human blood gain. Of course they had no other choice but to accept. The war was causing an immense amount of casualties and neither parties were in conditions to fight. But so long can happen in 500 years.” You pause to collect your thoughts and continue.  
“When both of our kinds have amassed a sufficient quantity of followers to stir up a war, don’t think they will hesitate to start a revolution once again. Our only hope is to create a union of all three races to put a stop to these acts of war.” Meenah tilts her head to the side like if she was confused but quickly ushers you to continue.  
“My father has been rallying up people to stand at his side under the idea of peace and equality but these people know the real reason. Your leader, Orphaner, he has known this for many years and has chosen to remain neutral. Now the dawn of the war grows closer so it is now the time for him to decide, will he remain hidden and watch as his entire race begins to dissolve or will he join the cult and fight for the world the First Demons and the Prima Race once created?”

“I gotta hand it to ya, Cronus. You bouy is one heck of a shoryteller. Whale, the wave I sea it, you’re given us a choice; Either we join your little school of misfits who want to save the world or we sit back and watch all our fronds and family die. So I guess we fight.” She says as she stands up and shrugs.

“Hah, so you’re makin’ the decision all on ya own? What are ya, the Scars second in command?” Cronus says as he rolls his eyes at her.

“It whale please you to know that I landed myshelf a role as the adviser when you decided to get eelloped with Mr. Legacy over here.” She holds her head high and Cronus’ palm hits his face with a sound.

“My old man must be losin’ his shit if he actually appointed you as an advisor. Alright fine, if you’re gonna be a part of this whole shindig then you best be goin’ back to the clan and informin' your superiors. Tell Dualscar his next motion should be to search The Cult leader, himself. Once he’s done that we’ll only have one more clan to add to the troops to be set. This shit is movin’ faster than we anticipated so get ready. Tell him the wards must be up at all times, the Doc and the Witch have been workin’ up some good ol’ fashion black magic to mess with everyone. Gotta be on the look at.” Cronus says as he takes your hand once more. Honestly you forget your boyfriend had once been an important part of Deep Sea Demon politics. 

“Alright but I’m just gonna say he ain’t gonna be too happy in taken orders from his runaway fry. Whale be in contact, Cronus. Vantas.” She winks at you and she’s off your doorstep and into the night.

You both watch her as she bolts the heck out of your street and watch her fade into the darkest corner of the street.

“Tell me, dear. Are all sea demon Lesser Demon?” You ask as you remember Meenah’s gills fluttering due to the cold breeze.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He nudges your side and you shake your head.

“I’ve never seen a Higher Demon from your clan and even if there are any outside your clan, how is it that your Guardian, uh I mean your father, managed to be the Leader of all four major clans? Wouldn’t a Higher Demon with abilities be able to claim the title for himself?” 

“Nah, Dualscar earned his title by proving himself better than a Higher Demon. He also has a huge number of supporters. He’s been father to many generations of demon and has helped grown skilled warriors that will follow him wherever he may go although the only fighting those fuckers do nowadays is fighting with the costums of every border.” He takes your hand and walks you up the stairs of your building.

You follow lost in thought as he pulls you into the elevator and walks you down the halls that reaches your apartment. 

“Kanny, you gotta stop goin’ over this whole ordeal. It’s done, just as the girl said would happen. She was right. We gotta start trusting the things she says, I mean, she was right about us.” He says as he jiggles the key into the lock of the door. Once he manages to open it he gives it a little shove to get the jam to loosen up. You both really need to get a new place.

“Yes, indeed she was. I was not sure how much I could actually believe her long ago. It seemed ridiculous.” You say as you take off your coat and hang it on the coat rack. Cronus does the same with his sweater nd in the process manages to pull off his long-sleeved shirt leaving him in only a grey t-shirt with a slight v-neck of some band you know clinging to his body in all the right places and with your mouth hanging slightly open. 

“What seemed ridi- Kan, babe. You’re droolin’ a bit.” He smirks at you while you snap your mouth shut and turn to pull off your own clothing. Thank the makers for heat systems because in a bold attempt to be seductive, you managed to pull off all your layer of clothing leaving you in a tight black undershirt.

“Kankri, if you were tryin’ to seduce me, consider me seduced and ready.” His heavy boots make the wooden floorboards creak as he walks over to you and pulls you to his chest.

“I wasn’t trying to do anything, just one-up you I guess.” Even though it was all just a way to mess with him, you lay your head on his chest and hug him tightly.

“So is this a no to the whole-”

“ _No_ , Cronus.”

“Yeah, alright. I got it, gonna shut up now.” His fingers run up and down your back as he hums a melody you can’t recognize.

“Do you think they’ll actually join?” You murmur after a while.

“You kiddin’? Not like they’re gonna sit on their asses and watch all of us get outed before this whole shit starts. He fuckin’ hates me but not as much as he hates the ol’ demon elders.’Sides, I bet he’s gonna be real excited about seein’ the Cult leader again.” You pull away from him just enough to see him wiggle his eyebrows.

“Oh, Cronus, don’t be distasteful! They’re older men that deserve our respect. Their meeting will probably be on respectful terms. They will certainly not be having any sort of _affectionate_ meeting.” You blush at the thought even though you know Cronus is probably right…

“Oh come on babe, you know they’re gonna bone.” He laughs at the expression you make so you smack his arms.

“I know…” you groan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I glubbing hate writing all those fish puns. I am not good at it.
> 
> Next update will be next week. I'm going to try to keep a consistency so I'm going to make a schedule for the updates. I'm also going to bump up the warning because the story has suddenly given a drastic turn in my mind so be sure to check that out.
> 
> Btw, 10 points to your house if you figure out who the cult leader is although you probably already know ;)


	9. Vision of Enlightenment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Your visions aren't always this clear. Somethings they are just flashes of images or faces, places or words. When they are clear and feel as real as your own reality, you know it's because of her. Because there is something you need to see that will change _everything._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My headcanon for this fic is that the demons native language is Latin. It's an old dead language that gave origin to several new languages. Demons in this fic are an old civilization so I thought it was appropriate.
> 
> Also, mystery character! (It's not such a mystery)

Your eyes open up to see what seem to be old ruins. Wasn’t this once a historic setting from one of the battles that occurred in the Uprising? What are you even doing here? There is no sun light. It is covered by a veil of black clouds. Lighting goes through the skies every so often and the crackle can be heard like an echo throughout the remains of this land. It’s completely deserted or well, it would be if corps weren’t filling the streets.

You feel sick to your stomach. You’ve never seen so much death. You walk through what looks to you like a battlefield to the center of the ruins. It seems this place was once also a city. You’ve read an excessive amount of information about the events that took place in the Uprising but you’ve never been able to visit the sites. You had always wished for a moment to travel the old ruins. “Be careful what you wish for” is no longer just a silly quote made to educate children. It’s a horrible truth.

As you walk through the fields, you notice your long skirt has begun to grow heavy; where it pools around your ankles, a great part of it seems soaked in a liquid that's making the purple material become darker and dirtier. You stomach does a flip as you guess what said liquid is. Deciding not to carry around a skirt of blood, you rip its length leaving the remaining fabric to cover over your knees.

The field and trees are burning, several mutilated bodies are strewn around. You smell the faint burn of dark magic in the air; it smells of burnt wood and sulfur. The ground is soiled with its use. Nothing will ever grow here. This land will now forever be devoid of life and light. It's tainted with death and destruction, the major components of darkness.

As you reach the center of the field where you know the main battle occurred you know you will meet a terrible sight. Dreading the image you will see, you decide to move forward slowly. You still need to know _why_.

Swords, knives, shields and practically any known weapon to you is thrown around next to the bodies. You cringe when you pass the bodies of two young demon, no more than 20 years old. They have not even lived a quarter of your life. 

As you push past the remains of these young ones and look over the hill, it takes all your strength no to collapse to your knees; friends and enemies alike are on the field. You know there are no survivors.  
Running down the hill you hold back a sob as you start to recognize the faces of each body;  
You can see both of your brothers bodies a couple of feet from you. You see your guardian's sword sticking out of his own chest. The Nox witch has been pierced by her own weapon, her eyes wide open from what you think was her surprise at receiving the impact. Her hands are blackened from the use of her magic. Several demons have been converted into dark shadowy demons, their features are exaggerated and terrifying to even look at but their bodies have also been consumed by the dark magic leaving only husks of what once was their body.

You decide to spare you the nightmares and run quickly throughout the horrible sight in front of you, careful not to look at any of the faces for too long and feeling a great need to spill your guts when you notice people you know are missing a head or have been poisoned by the darkness. 

Your crying, you have been for several minutes as you run to safety. You laugh hysterically as you soon realize, there is no safe place.

You don't stop until you see her body.  
Slowly you walk to her corpse and sink to her side. Compared to the others, she is not so hurt. She is far from the main battle ground, presumably stayed behind to keep the wards up, to aid in protecting those who fought from the tendrils of The Miles. 

Her face has small cuts and for some reason this angers you beyond explanation. 

_How dare someone harm her beautiful face?!_ you think to yourself as you run your fingers over her once smooth skin. Her hands are burned with overuse of magic, her lips dry from chanting and her heart pierced where The Miles reached her. 

You fold her hands over her body and move away from her body. You cannot do anything for her now.

“Vobis valedico.” you say to the bodies of your brothers, friends and lover.

 _And yet, no hero to bury._ The voice scratches against your mind, it's too cheery for the events you are witnessing.

“Where is he?” You grit through your clenched teeth. 

_Dead as well, although he did not die in this battle. He did not die in any battle. He died long ago when he decided to turn his back on everyone. He died an ignorant fool, oblivious to his impending demise._ The voices seems agonized by these turn of events.

“He is not an ignorant, he knows the truth now” You tell no one in particular but you know she is there.

_He knows yet he refuses to accept. Did you see him next to the body of his lover where one might think you would find the body of a man who died for his people?_

“Why? What went wrong this time? We have done everything in the way you have told us!”

 _This is not about laying out the field for the game, this is about moving the pieces to defeat the other player. Your job is done, you have set the field and the events will unravel as they should. Now your players must choose if they will indulge the challenge or leave the game and hide. This is not up to you anymore. It is up to Karkat Vantas to take the role of the most important piece of the game because without him,_ the image of Karkat being attacked by a faceless person and collapsing in his own blood flashes before you, _The king is useless._ she flickers to the face of Dave, his red eyes void of life.

“So now what, I must sit and wait until Karkat gets over his fears while this impending future looms before me? You have always helped me through these problems, why not help me now?” She appears before you in a black-hooded gown, her white short hair framing her smiling face.

“Because, I am not my brother. I will let my people use their free will. Karkat Vantas must forgive his father. He must take the place of the Cult leader and he must let Dave Strider bond with his soul. If these things do not happen, I'm afraid this shall be your future.” She looks behind her and frowns.

“While the two first subjects might be hard to achieve, I am certain they can quite easily be fixed but the second one? I know Karkat loves Dave but can't the blood bind be enough? Soul bindings have not occurred in years before the institutes were even created! It is a bond that only occurred with the Prima Hunters and the First Demons. Between a hunter and a demon who had connected in ways not many of us could and still cannot understand. Not to mention that it involves a process neither Dave nor Karkat will agree to.” You shake your head as she sighs.

“I am aware that a soul binding is a bit extreme but it is necessary. They will need to have each others back at all moments. The soul binding will give them the necessary abilities to end my brother and his people. It must be done.” She says, all playfulness gone completely.

“So what you are saying is that-”

“Yes, in order for this future to be avoided, Dave Strider _must_ burn out Karkat Vantas’ hunter blood. He must kill Karkat’s human remains.” Her voice does not flatter, she is serious.

“Neither of them will agree to this. It's unheard of in these times. There must be another way.” You hold a hand to your face already knowing and dreading her answer.

“There is no other way. And your time in this space has run out. It is time for you to die in this future as well. This reality is about to cease to exist.” She lifts a hand up and you can see flashes of light pierce from the darkened clouds.

“Wait, I still have questions that need answers!” You raise your hands defensively knowing that it is a waste of time.

“Goodbye, Rose.”

“Calli-” a shard of white lighting strikes you down and you are jolted awake.

Your eyes fly open and you can feel your heart beating rapidly against your ribs. You lift yourself from your bed and place a hand over your head trying to calm yourself down. You're sweating so you decide to get out of your bed and open a window. The cool air graces your skin and makes you feel less uneasy about the things you had just seen.

You sit down on your desk chair and decide to turn your computer on. As you wait for the appropriate programs to open up, you open and close your palm inspecting the symbol of your empathy link with Kanaya. You decide to try to contact her. This would be a great moment to make use of a bond you don't posses with her; while an empathy link lets you feel and see snippets of your partner’s life, bondings are much stronger as they allow the implicated partners to hold conversations as well as let them see through each other's eyes. But you and her have yet to bind each other. It's a precautionary measure she took to keep you safe.

You sigh and close your eyes as you try to contact her. You project your feeling of uneasiness and a vision of the battlefield you just saw towards her. Immediately, you are filled with worry and what seems to be the pesterchum logo. 

You smile to yourself. She is quick. 

Turning back to your computer, you open your pesterchum program and click on Kanaya's screen name. You know telling her might startle her but this is not the moment to start keeping things from her. Besides, you know she will have a great deal of impact of Karkat’s decisions.

tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering  grimAuxiliatrix [GA]

TT: Good morning, Kanaya. I would ask you to forgive me for waking you up so early but I know this is a standard time for you. Unless you have been out on patrols by which case I will indeed ask you to forgive me for waking you.

GA: Good Morning, Rose. I Have Indeed Started My Patrols But It Is Fine. The Times You Have Contacted Me Have Been For Necessity So I Imagine This Is Not Just To Chat Me Up. Although If I Am Being Sincere I Would Not Be Opposed To That Either.

TT: How sweet of you but I am afraid you are correct. There is a reason I have contacted you. As you briefly saw, I have had another vision. This one was not induced by my own hand but rather by our mysterious ally.

GA: She Showed You A Glimpse Of One Of Our Doomed Alternative Realities I Presume?

TT: Correct again. I think our initial presumption of her having an ability similar to your own has become less hypothetical now.

GA: Did She Tell You This Or Did You Figure It Out By Something She Said?

TT: My my, your abilities to solve enigmas are quite extraordinary. It is as if you have already read my mind and seen the truth. Yes, she seemed to let it slip when she vanished me from that reality.

TT: I believe her words to me went something along the lines of “It is now time for you to die in this space.” I am sure I am not remembering it correctly at all but her words revolves around something similar.

GA: Well This Only Confirms Our Original Theory Even More Though I Do Find It Rather Odd That She Let Those Precise Words Slip. If She Were Actually Trying To Hide Her Abilities From Us She Would Have Gone To Much Greater Extent In Puzzling Us Yet She Doesn't Do Much To Confuse Us.

GA: In Fact, We Are The Ones Who Always Seem Confused.

GA: Could It Be That We Just Lack The Detective Skills Of Sir Sherlock Holmes?

TT: Well if my eyes don't deceive me, I think I'm seeing a touch of sarcasm at the end of that sentence. Good job Kanaya.

GA: Thank You Dear, But Really. Maybe We Have Missed Her Hints And Clues?

GA: I Wish I Could Consult With Terezi, She Is Much Better At Solving These Sort Of Things Than I Have Ever Been.

TT: Indeed, I wish we could ask her about these sort of things.

TT: Alas my dear Kanaya, we cannot.

TT: Meanwhile, let us focus on the problem at hand. We will try to solve this another time. Shall we proceed?

GA: Of Course, Continue On. I Am Ready. 

TT: Alright. The vision she showed me, let us agree on calling it a vision since we are not sure if it was a spacial reality or a glimpse into the future, was about destruction.

GA: The Same As Before?

TT: No, not the same ones I have been having for many years. This was about our impending futures. I saw the battlefield where the main part of the war will happen.

TT: I saw my brothers and my guardian. I saw friends and enemies.

TT: Kanaya, no one survives.

GA: You Cannot Be Serious. All Of The Things We Have Done Are In Vain? I Refuse To Believe That.

TT: No, no. I have not finished telling you.

GA: Oh Dear, I'm So Sorry Please Continue.

TT: Yes well, this "vision" I saw occurred because certain events did not unfold. Some situations were not resolved thus creating a sort of domino event.

GA: What Were All These Situations That Did Not Get Not Resolved?

TT: They all revolve around Karkat, naturally.

GA: Naturally.

GA: What Was It This Time?

TT: Well thank the first ones, she actually told me the answer this time. No riddles or strange analogies. She was blunt and to the point. 

GA: If She Ceased Using Her Usual Charm And Quirk To Deliver Her Message That Must Only Mean She Is Very Worried. This Must Be, As The Say, A "Make It Or Break It" Sort Of Thing.

TT: Yes, I concur. She must need us to do something about these three moments. Maybe help out, give them a little push?

GA: Rose, Dear. We Have Always Kept Our Distance When It Comes To These Situations. We Cannot Start To Interfere Now After All These Events Have Flown Naturally Into Their Own Course. Wouldn't This Be Breaking Our On Rule Of Not Acting As The Players Of The Game?

TT: No Kanaya, I do not think so. She insisted we have already laid out the field game and that now is our turn to make our moves. She seemed to be telling me that we should make our move and then wait for the others to make their own. This way we aren't "pushing" the pieces into place but waiting for our turn again.

GA: So The Game Has Started. We Must Take Our Turn And Hope The Others Choose The Correct Way To Move.

TT: Exactly. Our moves are the most important as they are the first.

GA: In Order For Us To Take A Decision, Please Inform Me Of The Moments That Are Critical For Our World's Salvation.

TT: Oh silly me, I forgot to mention them. Very well, the first two are more or less linked and could be categorized as one, Karkat must forgive his father and take his place as rightful leader of The Cult.

GA: Splendid, I Cannot Wait.

TT: Kanaya, please. Tone it down with your sarcasm.

GA: It Was Such A Great Use Of It, Was It Not?

TT: Perfectly executed.

GA: I Imagine You Want My Help In Convincing Karkat To Speak With His Father So Some Kind Of Closure Can Occur.

TT: Yes, that would be the ideal situation.

GA: I May Be Able To Manage That But What About Making Him Take Place As A Leader. He Resents Everything Revolving Around Leadership, That Is The Reason He Stepped Down From Being Leader Of Our Unit And Gave The Rights Back To Porrim. He Does Not Want To Be The Leader Of Anyone Or Anything Because He Does Not Want To Make Mistakes As Kankri And His Father Made.

TT: He will have to find a way to get over his fear of leading everyone into a spiral of death. He must learn how to accept that not everything that turns out wrong is his fault. He might become a leader but that does not mean others do not have free will to listen to him or ignore him.

TT: He needs to know that people will make choices that will in fact, get them killed and that will not be his fault.

GA: I Agree. He Has Always Feared That His Actions Are The Reason People Get Hurt But It's Just Because He Always Wants To Save The Day And Keep Everyone Alive.

TT: This is war Kanaya, not everyone will survive.

GA: I Know, Rose. I Hope He Understands As Well.

TT: Just concentrate your efforts on the first part. The light has spoken to me and told me things will unravel in the correct way is Karkat rids his heart of hatred and ill-feelings.

GA: The First Part It Is Then. You Said There Were Three, What Is The Third Part?

TT: Well you see, the third one might be a bit more difficult. It involves my brother Dave.

GA: Please Do Elaborate.

TT: The way she explained it, it seems that the Lord is coming up with a method to kill us all very quickly and from what I was given a chance to see, it does indeed work. Somewhere along the way, if things happen as they should, Karkat and Dave will find a way to counter attack this.

GA: And How Will They Achieve That?

TT: Well that is the thing... They must achieve it by a soul bind.

GA: Rose Please, Sarcasm Is Not What We Need Right Now, I Ask You To Please Take This Seriously.

TT: "..."

GA: Oh Dear.

TT: Yes, my thoughts exactly.

GA: There Is No Way Dave Will Accept This. He Will Not Harm Karkat.

TT: Curios, I was thinking Karkat would be the one to refuse.

GA: Karkat Has A Strong Belief That Dave Already Owns A Soul. He Believes His Kin-Mate Was Converted Into A Demon By Force. He Thinks That In Some Moment Of Time, Both Of Them Might Have Been Humans.

TT: Well...

GA: Rose Please, This Is No Time To Start Pulling Out Silly Legends.

TT: Alright, Kanaya.

TT: But we will have to find a way to convince my brother that this is the only way things will work out correctly.

GA: Agreed, But Let Us First Deal With The First Part. Let Them Learn About Their Destiny.

TT: Fine, I suppose it is the right way to start. You have chosen your move, Kanaya. Once you take your turn and it is over, mine will start and things will really commence in the game.

GA: Yes, Things Have Actually Started.

TT: Indeed. I think it is time for me to talk to my brother and his kin-mate about these matters. I advise you to start with your group of friends as well.

GA: Yes, I Think The Moment Is Correct.

TT: Good luck, darling Kanaya.

GA: You Too, Sweet Rose.

tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering  grimAuxiliatrix [GA]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was under the impression that yesterday was Sunday. So sorry for the late update!
> 
>  **Rose's words:** "Ego vobis valedico" means "I say goodbye to you" 
> 
> I don't actually know much latin, I just read and look for words...


	10. Making an Effort

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You've had enough time to think. You've gone over the things you did right and wrong. You've discussed this with yourself several times. Now it's time to actually try and work it out.
> 
> Easier said than done.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More plot line! I'm sorry for the lack of davekat in these chapters.

The night sky is already starting to lighten up. The dark blue already gaining some lighter areas. Sunrise will be soon.

You're perched up on the roof of your building, one leg swinging over the edge as you watch demons from neighboring buildings start to head inside. Your clan must be the only one in this area that prefers the day over the night. It's not that demons are afraid of the light like those stupid vampire creatures humans made up, no. You're nocturnal beings, you have more energy in the moonlight. Though, that has not stopped you from living a normal life outside in the daylight. You know there are others who share your love of sunlight but not here. Over here everyone is traditional.

You stare at the sky until the pink turns to light as the sun begins to rise. Humans start to walk out in groups going to their jobs or schools. This has turned into a routine of some sorts for you; Waking up too early, coming out to the roof with the excuse of getting some training when in reality you’re just watching the movements of the city.

No one buys your excuse of “early training” but no one questions it, or they don’t question it anymore. Rose has tried several times but she knows you won’t budge. Bro just grunts and raises eyebrows at you but otherwise remains silent and Jake? Jake would never pressure you into opening up to him. He’s too good for you. And Dave...

You know you should discuss this with Bro or at least with Rose but it’s not something you want to talk about. You’re afraid you might be pushing Rose away in your attempt to avoid the topic. If you’re being honest with yourself, the moment you told Dave to take a hike was the moment Rose pulled away from you. It had been a stupid decision on your part but you had been so fucking pissed at the moment you couldn’t let anyone convince you otherwise.

“Haven’t we discussed this already? You fucked up, made a complete fool out of yourself and didn’t want to let anyone know our little brother fucked us over, dude. So just be the bigger man for once and talk to Dave.” You turn behind you and see Hal playing around with a hacky sack. 

HAL or, “Half-Mind Aware Lifeform” has gone through many changes; it all started out when Bro applied to be your guardian. He took you under his wing to teach you about Demon's history, Hunter’s history and everything that came before it.  
When your aspect finally manifested, he helped you control it. Heart abilities were rare and very chaotic. Luckily he had the same aspect as yours. He helped you harness it and project it.  
Your first heart split had been AR or “Artificial Reality” he had been like an imaginary friend trialing along with you, playing out situations with you until you could make the best decision.  
Your second split had been Brobot your “Bio Organic Trainer.” You had split once again and this time managed to project your form into a machine that helped you train and control your ability. When you grew older Bro finally helped you split into more people. You remember joking around and saying it was like a “shadow clone jitsu.” He laughed and said it was exactly like that only less shadow and more heart. That’s how Hal came to life. You had tried to perfect a splinter of yourself to the point where each of you was practically the same dude. Although Hal was much more upbeat than you, he was still the only person you could hold a discussion with since fighting with yourself is pretty pointless. You never _actually_ lose do you?

“Dave’s an immature little shit. He needs to learn to respect our life, our culture and our clan. Clan comes before any little hook-up.” You walk to his side and he kicks the small sack towards you.

“Bro come on, you know this kid isn’t having a once in a lifetime thing. He hasn’t had a hook-up in years.” Hal bounces it back on his knee and foot while rolling his eyes at you. He kicks it back to you.

“Dude he was going to get fucking killed all because of that loud hazel-eyed hunter. If it hadn’t been for me-” You kick it back and Hal frowns.

“You would’ve killed him, Dave would have ripped you a new asshole and Jake would’ve sliced me in half for not helping you out. You know this was all your fault for hating all over those who aren’t demons with your traditions and “clan before cults” bullshit. You got a stick up your ass Dirk, we both know it.” He kicks it back to you and you bounce it off your knee once before it flops to the floor.

“Shut up, Hal.” You kick the bag away and he tips his head to the side.

“Dirk. Talk to Rose and then to Dave. If you’re gonna be such a primadonna about all of this, just tell Jake you fucked up and he’ll be on you _quicker than a wild hare running from crazed hunters!_ ” He mocks Jakes accent and you smirk.

“Asshole.” 

“Just do something before you singlehandedly cause the world's destruction, yeah?” 

“Strider?” A voice comes from behind you to and you both turn around. “ _Dirk_ Strider.” 

“Whoops, time for me to hit the hay. Later, ladies.” Hal winks and you see him dissolve into a yellow smoke. You can feel the familiar pull when he melts back into your body.

“Letting Hal drive your arse into the ground at hackey sack again, are you?” Jake walks to your side and gives you a smile as you punch his shoulder lightly.

“He’s a huge dick be he always talks sense into me.” Jake hands you a glass of lemonade and you smile at him.

“Sense? Dear me, have you drunk some of your sisters magic brews? Dirk Strider has finally seen the light!” Jake tips your chin up and plants a chaste kiss on your lips. “Go on then, go tell Bro first, he’s going to be happy to have the Strider Clan back together. Rose will have her twin-kin back…”

“What about you, English? Miss little Deivid as well?” You kiss him back and he snorts.

“At least we’ll have someone other than myself cooking around here.” He wraps an arm around your waist and you curl your lip in mock disgust.

“Finally, edible food!” 

“Oh, shut it Dirk!” He pokes his forked tongue out at you and you laugh.

____________________________________________________________________

“So what you're tellin’ me is that you've decided to talk to your lil’ bro and patch things up with him after you almost killed his kin-mate and kicked him outta the house.” Bro yawns and scratches the back of his head. He’s leaning on the door frame of his room looking like he just woke up.

“You know, when you say it like that it sounds awfully easy doesn't it?”

“Look, kid I'm just tryna help you out. This here is one giant shit storm _you_ created ‘cause you can't let go of your “tradition” bullshit.” 

“Aren't you supposed to be like our mentor or some shit? Take care of us when we fuck up and all of that shit?” 

“I'm your guardian, not your dad. I ain't gonna tell you how to run your clan.” He shrugs and you growl.

“So that's it then? I'm fucked. Dave ran off into the sunset with his demon slayer and we’re fucked?” 

“Now that's not what I'm sayin’. If ya really wanna talk to him, you'll find away. I'd say ask Rose but I know you and your issue with pride so just go on and go with your first idea.” He walks back into his room and closes the door in your face. You growl and he chuckles.

“I'm not going to speak to Rose.” You say behind his door.

“Then you're fucked, kid.” He calls out.

You are most certainty _not_ fucked. You'll find a way.

You walk away from Bro’s room and make your way to yours and Jake’s.  
You pass Dave’s unused room on the way to your own and peak inside. It's still empty, a few posters hang from the wall, a collection of framed butterflies and other insects and a dissected tucan are sitting on a shelf. Some of his photographs and notes are still hanging on a cork board but other than that the room is empty. 

You walk in deciding no harm can be done. His old ironic power rangers bed spread isn't even here. That stupid pokeball lamp is gone as well. His desktop computer is still here but there's no use trying to fuck with that. He's got it protected by a stupid firewall. A literal firewall, you can see the black ashes around the desk where he set up the magic wall. Stupid rookie magic dust but effective you suppose. You’re not willing to scorch your fingers to put it to the test.

You sigh, you're about to walk out when you see a sticky note over the cork board. It’s written in red ink, circled and full of exclamation points all around. It looks like a chumhandle, not any you know either. You pull it off the board and pocket it. Maybe this person knows where the fuck this kid is.

You shuffle into your room being incredibly silent as you go past Rose’s room. No need to get her involved.

You decide to the the first logical thing, Call him. You pull your phone off the charger and scroll through it until you find Dave’s name. You know he won’t answer but you won’t lose anything, right?

“Yo, it’s Dave. If you’re hearing this I’m probably tainting my clan’s name and fucking the enemy.” His obnoxious voice says the last part in a stupid imitation of your own, “This is probably my brother Dick so man, fuck you stop calling.” It beeps into voice message and you frown.

“What a childish douchebag.” 

“Considering what you did,I think it is very valid.” You shiver when you hear Rose’s voice next to you. At least you didn’t jump or something lame like that.

“How is it that you knew what was going on? I try to avoid you and your psycho bullshit tingles to no prevail.” You huff and she rolls her eyes.

“Of course, Dirk. My “spidey-senses” tingle and I must immediately come and harass you. Let me make this experience even more real for you, _I see, I see… You! Messaging Dave to no success!_.” She holds her hands to her temple and closes her eyes while saying “hum” repeatedly. 

“Yes, this is hilarious Rosyvn. I have really enjoyed your use of the ironical fortune teller routine, now let me do whatever I need to do.” You pick up your laptop from the floor and open up the pesterchum app while she sits in your desk chair.

“Oh dear brother, I am glad you enjoyed my ironic interpretation of a joke you have used countless times. I do hope you know I was not kidding when I said Dave will not answer you.”

“Did the voices tell you or were you illuminated by our holy light god?” You ignore her as you begin to pester Dave.

timaeusTestified [TT] began pestering  turntechGodhead [TG]

TT: Bro. Need to speak with you, stop avoiding me like a little spawn.

turntechGodhead [TG] did not receive the message. 

turntechGodhead [TG] has blocked  timaeusTestified [TT]

turntechGodhead [TG] sent automatic response to: timaeusTestified [TT]

TG: if youre reading this i hope you know you are a huge dick so stop trying to contact me you will not get a response you fucking tool btw love and kisses to my little sis and tell bro i miss his fine ass later asshole

TT: You little shit.

turntechGodhead [TG] did not receive the message. 

timaeusTestified [TT] ceased pestering  turntechGodhead [TG]

You look over your shoulder to see Rose grinning smugly. You are tempted to flip her off but your anger is concentrated on your stupid brother at the moment.

“Fine, it was useless. Now tell me how I can contact him so I can fix this because so we can go back to normal,” she raises an eyebrow at you and you sigh, “Fine, as _normal_ as it can be after this point.”

“As normal as it can be… Yes, things indeed are about to change. Very well, it is time. Have you found the chumhandle in Dave’s room?” She closes her eyes as if she’s remembering something.

“Yeah I have it in my pocket.” You pull the note out and hand it to her but she shakes her head.

“No, that is for you to use. You will need to contact this person. They will know where Dave is, believe me.” She lifts herself from the chair and pinches your cheek, “Please try to remember we’re trying to _bring_ Dave back not drive him further away.” 

“What the hell does that even mean? And who’s chumhandle is this anyway?” You wave the paper around and she smirks.

“Be nice, Dirk. Please inform us of the outcome later on, will you?” She walks out of your room and you groan. 

You decide to get this shit over with as soon as possible so you add the chumhandle to your contact list, open the chat window and begin to pester the person immediately.

timaeusTestified [TT] began trolling  carcinoGeneticist [CG]

TT: Yo I did not know people still used trollian. That platform is so obsolete dude, you should consider changing right away.

CG: EXCUSE ME, *DUDE* BUT I FIND IT HIGHLY EFFICIENT.

CG: ANYWAY WHO THE FUCK GAVE YOU MY HANDLE AND WHAT DO YOU WANT?

TT: Sup, I’m looking for Dave Strider. Who are you and do you know where he is? If he is keeping you captive, type sos.

CG: OH WOW, IT SEEMS THAT YOU WANT ME TO START HANDING OUT PEOPLE’S INFORMATION LEFT AND RIGHT. WELL GUESS WHAT ASSHOLE, NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. EITHER TELL ME WHO YOU ARE OR I’M BLOCKING YOU.

TT: Fine, chill bro. My name is Dirk, Dave is my brother.

CG: OH. YOU’RE THE TAINT CHAFING ASSHOLE WHO KICKED HIM OUT. NICE TO FINALLY SPEAK TO YOU

TT: Excuse me but I do not think we know each other for you to be dropping those offensive words.

TT: By offensive I mean completely unoffensive. 

CG: OH FUCK, YOU EVEN SOUND LIKE HIM.

TT: I don’t know if I can take that as a compliment. So mystery dude, can I get a name?

CG: KARKAT VANTAS.

TT: Well shit.

CG: SO DOUCHEPOLE, WHY DO YOU NEED TO TALK TO THE ONE PERSON YOU FLIPPED THE FUCK OFF?

CG: MORE IMPORTANTLY, WHY DO YOU HAVE MY CHUMHANDLE AND HOW DID YOU KNOW THIS WAS ME?

TT: Calm down, blues clues. I think you need to bring your whole detective level down a notch. I have a friend who knew about you and told me to talk to you since you’d be my only way of contacting Dave.

CG: YOU MEAN ROSE?

TT: Oh so he told you about Rose, already did he? Is there anything you two don’t share? Or has he already told you his name isn’t Dave, not really.

CG: YOU MEAN HIS NAME IS DAVID? THAT’S PROBABLY OBVIOUS CROTCH STAIN. AND NO, HE DIDN’T TELL ME ABOUT ROSE, SOMEONE ELSE DID.

TT: No, it’s not David. We’re demons, we don’t share names with the human folk.

TT: So if it wasn’t little Davey, who was it?

CG: YOU SAY HUMAN FOLK AS IF YOUR KIND HAD ALWAYS BEEN DEMONS. WE ALL CAME FOR HUMANS ONCE UPON A TIME, DICK FACE.

CG: DID YOU SAY *DAVEY*, HOW IDIOTIC. I CAN’T TELL YOU THE NAME EITHER BUT IF YOU’RE SO CURIOUS, WHY DON’T YOU ASK ROSE?

TT: Touche. 

TT: Are you going to let Dave speak to me or not?

CG: I DON’T THINK HE WILL WANT TO SPEAK TO A FUCKING ASSHOLE. AFTER ALL, HE IS A TRAITOR OF THE CLAN. YOU MIGHT WANT TO HAVE HIM SENT TO THE MEDIUM FOR ALL WE CARE.

TT: Oh so it’s “we” talk now?

CG: FUCK THE HELL OFF STRIDER, YOU ARE NOT EXACTLY WINNING ANY PITY POINTS FOR YOUR CAMPAIGN THIS WAY.

TT: Fine, I’ll ask nicely if it makes you reconsider: Dearest, Karkat. Would you mind letting my brother know I need to speak to him? I need to tell him I’m sorry for pushing him away and that I regret saying he’s an embarrassment for our clan. He’s a colossal idiot who thinks he’s too good for everyone but he’s still my brother.

TT: How about that?

CG: I THINK YOU CAN DO BETTER THAN THAT, DIRKY.

TT: How in the flying fuck

TT:Dave.

CG: sup broseph

TT: You’re such an asshole.

CG: and your a dick 

CG: wait a minute

carcinoGeneticist [CG] switched to  turntechGodhead [TG]

TG: right so where were we

TG: oh yeah you were saying how much you missed me and wanted our broship back

TT: You little shit. I never

TT: OK whatever. I made a huge fucking mistake as always and made the whole clan break up. As always we can count on my superb people skills to mess everything up.

TG: yo dude chill lets not get all sentimental up in this bitch besides karkat talked some sense into me said things needed to happen this way in order for us to meet

TG: by meet i mean fuck

TT: Dave please, need to know only.

TG: right so things had happen that way you had to try to kill my boy i had to try to claw your eyes out you had to kick me out so i could finally emancipate myself from you losers and get lucky

TT: Gee, Dave. Did using a big word make your head go ouchie?

TG: if thats your way of saying sorry ill take it

TT: Yeah, shit. Sorry, man.

TG: no prob brosky just stop trying to kill my kin mate

TT: I’ll see what I can do.

TG: right

TG: so i gotta go karkat says weve got to go apparently were about to meet like the president of all human demon hunter interaction and this shit is like legit the biggest shit ill ever do with my miserable life 

TG: im gonna tell my spawn about this be all like your big man met the goddamn president shook his hand and everything was all chummy with him and bumping fists left and right true celebrity material right here aint no b class star no no we only meet the best us striders

TT: You done? Please shut up and leave.

TG: love you too dick

TT: Fuck off douche.

timaeusTestified [TT] ceased trolling turntechGodhead[TG]

You shut your laptop and shake your head. He’s still a giant dork but he learned it from you so what else is there to say?

“Is Dirk Strider _smiling_?” Jake says as he comes into the room and sits next to you.

“Yeah, such a rare occurrence. You better get it while it’s hot.” You tilt his chin down so he’s at your level and press a kiss to his lips. You smooth your fingers under his chin and smile. His green eyes are always the best part about Jake; a black slit surrounded by dark emerald.

“Splendid love, I’ll take you up on that offer in a minute just let me tell you what Rose told me before you make me forget.” He kisses your cheek and you pull back.

“Lay it on me.” You tell him while you slowly massage his scalp.

“Mmm… Yes well- Dirk!” He nudges your hand away with a laugh and you smile at him.

“Alright, you’ve got 40 seconds.” You say as you kiss his neck.

“40 seconds? Now Dirk I don’t think-”

“39, 38, 37…”

“Oh gosh darn it! Yes well, Rose has told me to inform you that Dave and his kin-mate will be over next week. She is not sure the precise time but she will be certain it will be at night. Dave has gone back to nocturnal hours so it’s only fair to assume they will be by around midnight.” 

You sit up and rub the bridge of your nose.

“Are you alright, love?” Jake cups your face and gives you a worried look.

“You know it’s the hunter boy's fault, right? He’s the one with a nighttime agenda. Figures Dave would change his regular sleeping hours to accommodate the dude.” You roll your eyes. Jake pouts and pulls you to his chest.

“Mate, he’s not a spawn anymore. You can’t expect him to stick to our rules. Honestly, no one sticks to our rules except me and Bro. Rose sleeps most of the time and the other clan members just stick to their own schedule. We can’t expect everyone to follow our silly tradition. Besides, traditions were meant to be broken. That is why we left my clan, remember?” 

You lean into Jake’s embrace and tuck your head under his chin. Recalling how you both came to form this clan, you sigh and nod.

“I guess you’re right. I still ain’t happy about it.”

“It’s all fine and dandy. All I ask of you is one thing, Dirk.” He tilts your chin to his face and you raise an eyebrow. “Please, let’s try not to kill anyone this time, shall we?”

“Typical.” You rule your eyes and kiss your kin-mate as you make a mental note to hide your sword this time.

______________________________________________________________________________

tentacleTherapist [TT] began pestering  grimAuxiliatrix [GA]

TT: My move has ended, dear. Bishop to B6.

tentacleTherapist [TT] ceased pestering  grimAuxiliatrix [GA]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another headcanon for this fic! As Dirk mentioned, they indeed do not have "normal" names. Just some more demon bullshit as Karkat would say. But for future referance:  
> Dirk = Deetrik  
> Rose = Rosyvn  
> Dave = Deivyd  
> Bro = Bronder  
> Jake = Jakker
> 
> Demon's have a different language so me and my girl friend thought it would me reasonable for them to have uncommon names.  
> Oh and yes, Jake is also a lesser demon. His mark would be his eyes and tongue, resembling those of a lizard.


	11. Base of Operations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You try to tell yourself this trip is going to be short and to the point. No overthinking. Just walk in and get it over with. You know it's pointless, something will probably happen and everything will go to shit. Just how long it will take for everything to blow up in your face? Who knows but anyway, you're here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Look, our main pairing is back! Now back to the plot line, with smut.

Dave was fidgeting at your side. He seemed nervous and that made you smile. A greater demon, capable of killing you _and_ the cab driver in less than a second and he was _nervous_.

“What’s wrong? You’re about to rip your lip off if you keep poking at it like that, Strider.” You smirk at him but he doesn’t answer. “Dave?” You hold his hand and he looks over to you. His jaw is tense and for a moment he loses control over his human form; his eyes flicker bright red and his teeth regain their pointed form.

“Hey, you’re eyes are glowing and your fangs.” You whisper as you gesture toward his mouth.

“Oh, shit.” He brings his shades back down to cover his eyes and he presses his hand to his mouth.

“What’s up with you? I’ve never seen you lose control over your facial disguise.” You hold his hand in between your own and he squeezes it.

“I didn’t know we were going to meet with the man himself. Ya know the guy is a freaking legend in my community, right? I’m not even sure our guardians defend our kind as much as he does.” 

“Well, well. Does Dave Strider actually admire someone other than himself?” You laugh as he shoves your shoulder.

“Not many people would give up their life to try to help us out. Believe it or not but not a lot of people care for my kind.”

“You don’t say?” You knew many demons admired the Cult leader. You never really understood why all he ever did was act like a mediator.

“Serious. Some crazy weirdos even try to kill us. They have fun collecting our symbols.” He smiles at you and you roll your eyes.

“Well you probably deserve it. I hear you can make a fuckton of problems around the world. Assholes need to learn some respect.” 

“Fuck off, Vantas.” He smiles and you press yourself into his side. “You know he left his unit? Left his whole life behind to pursue his movement. He was part of the first order, those dudes that send you your big missions and shit? He was part of them. He left his family behind for a group of unorganized demons. Our elders and guardians accepted his help, allowed him to speak for our community in the human world. Can’t blame me for lookin’ up to him. He sacrificed a lot.” 

“Yeah, he sounds like a real winner.” You mutter as you hide your face in his shirt.

You look down at your hands and run your fingers over the freshly made empathy link. Kanaya insisted on it. You don’t mind, it’s actually rather calming, familiar in a sense. You brush your thumb over it feeling uneasy. Almost instantly, you feel the tension seep out of your body and you let yourself sag against Dave’s chest. You convey your thank you through an image of you and her hugging.

“Hey kid, we’re here.” The cab driver's voice pulls you out of your thoughts. He’s parked in front of a tall building that’s surrounded by smaller building in the outskirts of the city. You don't understand why the important places are always located outside of the city limits.  
It looks deserted but you know better. 

You hop out and pay the driver. As you watch him pull away, you turn to see Dave looking up at the tall structure. You sigh and shake your head. Better get this over with.You take his hand and walk up to the front doors. When you're inside, you're hit with the warmth that spreads through the building, so you loosen your scarf. 

Dave stays behind you to admire the artwork hanging from the walls and filling the entire room so you decide to address the front desk by yourself.  
People are walking all over the place. Night time is when it’s the busiest, obviously. You walk up to a counter where a woman is typing at her desk, bright blue shoulder-length hair and neon glasses frame her face.

“Excuse me.” You say to get her attention.

“Good even sir welcome to- Karkat!” She smiles and you shyly return her smile.

“Aranea. It’s been some time.” Aranea is a demon who has worked with your father since you were in the institute.

“I’ll say! I didn’t know you’d be coming or I would’ve told everyone. Will you be staying? I can get you your old room if you’d like, I know you’re here to see him. He’s out of town meeting with some representatives as of right now but he’ll be back tomorrow! If I tell him you’re here he’ll probably come back sooner-”

“No need, Aranea. Just tell him when it’s over. I’m hoping you can get me the old room, yeah. I don’t really feel like making a trip back to HQ at this time.”

“Alright Karkat, don’t worry. I’ll tell Meulin to give you your card key, OK? Would you like-”

“Karkat dude, they have some awesome art pieces here. I didn’t know the Makara’s were demon supporters. I would’ve bought some of their shit years ago!” Dave walks over to your side as he points at some paintings framed on the far side of the walls.

“Actually the Makara’s have supported equal rights since the first start of the Demon Unity movements. Both the siblings and their father are good friends of the Signless. I’m Aranea Serket,” She holds out her hand to Dave and they both grip their forearms as the usual demon greeting, “Are you a friend of Karkat’s?”

“Dave Strider. Boyfriend, actually.”

“Boyfriend? I didn’t know-”

“Aranea, we have to go. Dave hasn’t had a proper meal in a hours and we really shouldn’t keep him from having a quality dinner like the one they serve here. See you later?” You pull Dave’s arm before she can say another word and head to the dining hall.

“She seemed nice. I didn’t know you were friends with demons.” Dave says as he slips an arm around your shoulders.

“In my field of work I have to know everyone. Either on political terms or on hunting terms.”

“Eerie as fuck but alright. So, what’s on the menu in a place like this?” He looks around the dining hall as you enter. 

People are eating at different tables; some are in line to purchase quick meals and others are ordering from menus at their tables. Depending on a person's preference, you can either buy take-out or eat here, like a restaurant.

“You can get whatever you like, human or demon food. Choose whatever the fuck pleases you.”

“Rude much? What’s the matter with you?” He makes you both halt to a stop and turns to look at you with a raised eyebrow.

“This place is just getting to me, alright? I was raised to capture rogue demons, I feel weird knowing I might have sent someone’s kin to the Medium.”

“Pff, you’ve sent a ton of my friends to the Medium, it’s not like they didn’t deserve it. We have our rules.” He shrugs and gives you a small smile.

“Yeah OK. Come on, let’s get something to eat.”

Dave ends up ordering a ton of food, both human and demon kind. He seems to have been holding in his appetite when you went out last week because watch him scarf down two raw steaks and seven hot dogs in less than five minutes. He orders three large cokes and two energy drinks all while you finish your burger and fries. He asks for a glass of a black syrupy liquid called “oppimere”. He downs it in one go and you watch as his eyes lose their red glow.

“What the fuck was that for?” You ask as he continues to stuff his face.

“It‘s to make my eyes lose that weird glowy effect that reveals my demon nature. Humans don’t really like to know they’re in the presence of a higher demon.”

“These humans do. You didn't have to drink that black crap.” He shrugs.

“Old habit. I’m not fond of my eye color either.” He finishes chewing his raw piece of meat and drinks another pink drink called “sanguinis” When you ask him about it, he tells you it’s a blood substitute. Oh yeah, Dave’s a blood demon.

When he pulls out his wallet to pay and you shake your head and push his hand back into his lap.

“What the fuck are you doing nimrod? We don’t use currency here.” He gives you a puzzled look and you roll your eyes. You call the waiter over and give him a series of digits he starts typing in a small machine. He then nods and hopes you had a great meal.

“What the heck was that all about? This place is run in a very weird way.” He says as he stands up and walks behind you.

“We use our hunter I.D’s here. The meal is covered by my unity. It’s like a human’s social security number but for cash. Now come on, we need to go see Meulin.”

___________________________________________________________________________

“Karkitty! It’s been ages since I’ve seen you! How have you been? Does your fa-”

“Hello, Meulin. It’s fan-fucking-tastic to see you to. I came for my card room. I’m tired and I have no fucking intention to stay and chat so if you could please hurry the fuck up, that would be swell.”

“Sheesh Mr. furrypants! I just wanted to say hi. I don’t think I’ve met your furriend, my name’s Meulin!” She smiles at Dave and he nods at her.

“Dave Strider, I’m Karkat’s boyfriend.” He says as he shakes her hand, human style.

“Boyfurriend? I didn’t know you had a boyfurriend, Karkitty! And a demon too!”

“Amazing, isn’t it? Now can you just give me my room card, I’ll be on my way.”

“Alright, alright! So pawsy… Here you go. Don’t furget to say hi to Gamzee lafur, I’m sure he’ll be glad to see you!” She waves her hand and you nod. Goddamn, Meulin is such a strange girl… Actually, all Leijon girls are.

You tug Dave’s arm to make him follow you and walk up to the elevator as you mash the buttons to the guest level repeatedly. 

“You sure know a lot of people here. Even the weird sweaty waiter. Were you a part of the Cult before or something?” Dave asks as he looks at his reflection in the mirrored elevator walls.

“No. I told you, a hunter knows people.” You mutter. You feel bad for lying to him, even though you know he’s going to find out soon enough but you really don’t want to get into all of this crap right now. You just want to lay down.

You walk out of the elevator as soon as the doors dings open. 

The long hallways lead to guest rooms for people that have been invited to tour the building or for politic members, some people even have established rooms here, since they visit often. It seems funny to be back here; the green carpet from your schooling days is still stained in the same place. Some paintings have been added to the walls and the wallpaper has been redone. Other than that the hallway still look the same. They still keep that hotel-like feeling. 

You reach the door to room 413 and slide your key-card. It clicks open and you step inside the large room. It looks like a normal hotel suite even though it’s supposed to be one of many guest bedrooms.

“Holy fuck the Cult is loaded, isn’t it?” Dave says as he walks in behind you.

“Having many wealthy and powerful acquaintances can help out a lot.” You sit down on the large bed in the room and untie your boots. You toss your coat onto a chair and watch it sag to the ground. Oh well.

Dave shrugs his overcoat off and picks up your own, tossing it over the chair.  
He unzips his jacket and throws it on the desk then slips his converse off and tucks them under the desk. He’s wearing a dark red flannel and black jeans underneath that you hadn’t been able to appreciate under his jacket. It's like all his outfits consist of flannels and loose t-shirts.

“You look nice.” You tell him as he toes off his socks. He gives you a side grin and you blush.

You sit on the edge of the bed and let yourself fall back with a thud. You can hear Dave shuffle around the room, getting his bag and your own out of the way. You close your eyes and the room falls silent for a moment. When you open them up again, you see Dave’s face hovering over you.

“Don’t fucking do that, it creeps me out.” You tell him as he smirks.

“Liar. You like it when I scare the living shit out of you.” His forearms are framing your face and you smile up at him as your arms encircle his neck.

“You’re full of crap, you know that right?” He lowers his face to your neck and you tilt it to the side. You can feel his sharp teeth glide across your neck and his breath tickles your skin.

“You know, I hope I’m not being forward but I haven’t had a single drop of real blood in a few months. Not human _or_ animal. Substitutes don’t count.” He nips at your skin and you shiver.

“Am I supposed to congratulate you on that? Hooray for you, Dave. You haven’t ripped someone’s throat out in months.” You say as you run your fingers through his hair. You can feel him smile against your neck.

“I was hoping you’d reward me, yes.”

Dave, being a blood demon depends on its properties to help him maintain his strength and heightened senses. Blood demons used to hunt to fill their needs but after the uprising, hunters banned all demons to prey on humans. Unless the human gave their consent, the demon would be sent straight to the Medium, no trail. In order for them to maintain their energy, animal blood and substitutes are provided and although Dave can survive on the substitutes you know he still longs the human kind.

“Fat chance, asshole. I’m not into the whole “reward for good behavior” shit.” You smile as you tug on his hair.

“Isn’t that fucking rude. A man stops drinking around for you and this is how you reward him? I might just go back to sucking innocent girls necks…” his nose glides across your neck, inhaling deeply.

“Try it, dickface and you’ll meet your friends in the Medium sooner than you think.”

“Look, all I’m saying is that I’ve been on my best behavior. I haven’t done anything that could be considered against the law in like, half a year. OK maybe that one time I asked Mituna for the demon deflector but that was totally for you and also that time I bought ashes for a firewall but that was for my protection you can’t actually blame me for-”

“Dave, if I let you drink from me will you stop talking?” You grit through your teeth and his mouth snaps shut.

“Without a doubt.” He whispers.

“Fine.” You sigh.

“We’re bound, babe. I can’t bite you until you give me permission, it’s all like vampire shit up in this shit. Also, I'd be breaking a law if you don’t consent. You don't want me to go to the Medium, do you?” He licks a stripe up your neck and you shiver.

“Bite me, Dave.” you huff in response.

“Oh thank god.” He sinks his fangs in your neck and you throw your head back, arching into his body. Goddamn that was stupid but you can’t help it. It’s like his fangs have a direct line to your groin. He removes his teeth and sucks at the punctures he’s made making you moan out like an idiot. He groans in response and laps at the blood coming out of the holes.

“Oh god, Dave…” You murmur as he continues to suck on your neck. It’s like you have no control over yourself. One minute you’re moaning out his name and the next you’re lifting your hips up to rut against his leg. He doesn’t actually seem opposed to the idea as he pushes his thigh against your groin.

“Does that feel good?” He asks, the bastard. Like he doesn’t fucking know.

“I don’t!” He says as he grips your waist. Seems you said that out loud.

“It feels fucking incredible, now shut up and put your mouth to good use.” He latches back onto your neck and whine. You can hear his hand reach down to retrieve something from his bag. You find out it’s lube.

“Dave. Dave, please.” You tug at his shirt and he removes it immediately. His fingers crawl down your backside pressing gently on your spine until he reaches your ass and gives it a good squeeze making you press yourself into him as he grinds down on you.

“Ah fuck, please come on, Dave.” You fumble at his pants and he fumbles with your shirt. A bunch of pulling and shuffling is involved as you move frantically around to get some friction and undress yourselves.

He pops the cap on the lube he took out of his bag and coats his fingers with it. You lift your hips expectantly and he grins.

Finally, his hand moves to your ass and he slowly teases your entrance as you push down on his hands. He stretches you and coats his fingers with more lube so you busy yourself with biting at his neck trying to ignore your slight discomfort. He inserts one finger slowly, moving it around and pushing against your walls. The second one is a bit uncomfortable but as he keeps lapping at your neck you relax and it starts to feel slightly less uncomfortable. Once he adds the third it feels much more pleasant so you hook your legs around his waist and push down harder on the digits. He snickers at you.

“Quit your fucking teasing and get on with shiiiit!” He sucks hard on your neck and your fingers curl into the sheets.

“So commanding! Stop squirming around, let me just…” He covers his hand with the remaining liquid and pumps himself a few times before he lines himself up. You can feel his cock pressing at your entrance and you shudder. This is the first time someone’s actually fucked you and not the other way around. Not that you're afraid, you know he won’t hurt you. 

His hand frames your face and brushes out the strands of hair that have stuck to your face. His thumb smooths over your lower lip and he smiles when you blush.

“Dave, so help me if you don’t ahhh-” the tip of his cock presses in slowly and you bite your lip at the slight sting of him stretching you. He stills when you tense and rubs your hip with his thumb trying to get you to relax.

“I-I’m not a fucking doll, Dave you can move!” You grip his shoulders and he smirks as he pushes in further but still not fully inside you. “You’re a goddamn tease, I hate when you-”

“Karkat, _shut up_.” He slides in slowly and your feet curl as you feel him completely inside you. You release a sigh. He let’s you adjust and you nod to let him know he can move after the initial discomfort eases away.

He thrusts slowly, hands at your hips, kissing your neck softly. It feels different from last time; It’s the first time you’ve had sex since you bound him to yourself. Every movement feels amplified, like each feeling is connected to your soul. It’s sappy, you know but you can’t help it. It’s like your bodies are connected in every way.

He moves at an even pace, not pushing into you like crazy but not treating you like a delicate flower either. You hook your legs back around his waist and push him closer to you, encouraging him to push harder. He nibbles softly at your collar bone, sucks lightly on the skin and you know he’s leaving marks that might be visible tomorrow but right now, you don’t seem to care.

“Dave, faster please I need, I need-” What the fuck _do_ you need? He nods, like if he understands and he thrusts harder, deeper. Your back arches and you claw up his sides. He moans your name and grips your shaft, pumping in the rhythm of his thrusts.

“Karkat, shit I’m gonna come.” He grunts and leans down to kiss you, sloppy but intense. You bite his lower lip and suck it into your mouth and the moan he let’s out makes you whine.  
His thrusts become less rhythmic and you feel him begin to pull out but you tighten your legs around his waist. 

“Don’t you dare pull out, asshole.” You grip his shoulders tighter and he comes inside you. A few more thrusts as he rides out his orgasm and you come in his hand while you moan his name. 

He flops next to you as he pulls out and curls and arm over your waist, tugging you to his side. You feel your arm burn and you lazily lift it. Your eyes widen when you see it; The intricate patterns have reached your wrist. They seem to have acquired some white tones.

“Dave. Dave, look.” You shove his shoulder lightly to get his attention.

“Hmm… No, tired. Lemme sleep.” He murmurs and you smack his head.

“Look at your arm you goddamn weenie.” 

He lifts his head and cracks an eye open. 

“Why? You’re ruining my afterglow dude. Sex and then sleep, yeah? Why you gotta ruin the natural course of things, I don’t get what’s so HOLY MOTHER FUCK.” He tumbles off the bed as he lifts his arm.

“You are the _worst_ greater demon I have ever met. You do know that right?” You say as you peek over the side of the bed to see him sprawled on the floor.

“Give me a fucking break, I’m only 54 years old. What the hell happened? It’s like this thing likes to grow every time we fuck around.” He says as he turns his arm from side to side.

“Nice use of the phrase “fucking around.” Now get up here and let me see your arm.” 

“Look at your own arm, this one’s mine.” He tucks his arm behind his back and you roll your eyes. 

“Why are you such a baby? Come on, Dave. Quit whining and let me see it.” He sticks his tongue out at you but climbs back up on the bed. He lays beside you and extends his arm in front of you. His design has also reached his wrist but unlike yours, his has brown colors. 

“What the fuck is happening?” You whisper as you trace the lines on his tattoo.

“Who the hell knows but I’m not complaining. If this is what it’s like to be bound to a hunter, I’ll let myself be covered in tattoos.” He nuzzles your neck as he turns to you and hugs your waist. 

“Sappy idiot.” You say but you lace your arms around his neck and press yourself to his chest.

His phone buzzes and he fumbles around the nightstand to find it. He winces when the bright light from his phone illuminates his face. He types something up and then drops the phone back on the nightstand with a clatter.

“Rose can go fuck herself, I'll talk to her tomorrow.” He murmurs lazily making you giggle.

Soon, you stop feeling his breath on your neck and know he’s fallen asleep. You rub small circles on his back and close your eyes, thinking about your meeting with your father before falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let it be known that the beta trolls, alpha trolls and ancestors aren't always related or the kids for that matter.  
> For example neither Sollux, Mituna or The Psiionic are related. All the Vantas are as well as the Makaras. Meulin and Nepeta are also related but not The Disciple. Damara was not related to Aradia but Aradia is related to The Handmaiden.  
> Dirk, Rose and Dave are siblings but not Roxy. Jade isn't related to Jake, etc.
> 
> I'll specify when the characters _are_ related so you don't need to keep track of this!
> 
> Oh and all the weird potion/beverages Dave drank are latin words:  
>  **Sanguines** = Blood related  
>  **Oppimere** = Repress


	12. My Hunter's Keeper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are about to meet the Cult leader, the one and only Singless who has sworn to protect those of your kind and keep the peace between humans, hunters and demons. This is going to be great, nothing can catch you by surprise after this! 
> 
> Except when the son of the Singless happens to be the dude you're dating. Now _that's_ a plot twist.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not good a titles or summaries. I think this chapter is shorter than the ones I usually put up so, sorry for that.

You wake up to a burning sensation on your arm. You fumble around in the sheets until you're able to poke your head out of the mess. Your bedside is empty and you can hear the shower running. You sigh and thread your fingers through your hair which feels slightly greasy and sweaty. Karkat usually takes quick showers so as soon as he steps out, you’re gonna clean up.

You turn to the side and see the curtains closed. It still must be light out. You take your shades from the bedside table and slip them on.

Another sting goes through your arm and you lift it up to see what's making it burn.  
Oh right, your magical love tattoo got upgraded. If you ever tried to dismiss this thing you had with Karkat as a good lay you can forget it now. Any doubt you previously had in the nature of your relationship was out the window. If this wasn't proof of your love towards this demon hunter then you don't know what is.

As you lay in bed, you recall seeing another member of your clan downing a similar tattoo before he left the clan for “personal reasons.”  
You had asked him about it when you were younger. He had pulled off his shirt and showed you the designs on his arm, chest and back covering one side of his body. Your own kin-sibling had punched his shoulder and told him to put his shirt back on and to stop filling your mind with bullshit. Dirk also told you to stay away from him after that. Figures he was trying to hide all of this from you.

“You're awake, good. Get dressed, we’re to meet the Signless in an hour.” Karkat says as he walks out of the bathroom. He walks over to his bag and pulls out a Navy blue sweater and black skinny jeans. You rarely get to see him without his hunter outfits so you figure he doesn't have much casual attire. You make a mental note to buy him more clothes or to let him at least take you to shop for more.

“Stop staring at my ass and take a shower, perv.” You grin at him and get out of the bed. You walk up behind him and circle his waist with your arms as you place your chin on his shoulder. He tips his head back and you kiss the side of his neck, over the puncture wounds from last night.

“Don't, those are still sensitive.” He admonishes you as you run your fangs over the bruised area.

“Sorry. I got carried away.” You place a kiss on the spot and he hums contently as he lifts his arms to your head and scratches the base of your neck gently. How could you ever doubt your love for this loud fucker? 

“One hour, Dave. You're wasting precious time.” He sighs as you sway yourselves from side to side.

“53 minutes, actually. I'll be done in 16. No worries.” You spin him around and place a chaste kiss on his lips before walking into the bathroom. You might have some spare time but you want to meet the Signless as soon as possible so you do something Striders _never_ do: rush your shower.

You pull on some black jeans and a white button on, rolling the sleeves up. You slip a grey cardigan and knit your red tie up. Toeing a pair of black boots on, you bolt out the door to see Karkat slipping his own pair of boots on.

“Someone's eager.” Karkat smirks as he finishes tying his shoes. You smile sheepishly and pull him up.

“Come on, stop teasing me.”

“Are you wearing a tie?” He giggles at you as he straightens it out for you. If you weren't so excited in meeting your goddamn idol you'd had stopped to admire your boyfriend's adorable laugh.

“Babe, please _come on._ ” you groan and he giggles again. Taking your hand he walks you both to the elevator and presses the number 57. How many fucking levels does this place even have?

You tap your foot as you watch the numbers change on the screen as you go up. This building was taller than you imagined, you’ll say as much.

The elevator halts and dings as the door opens. Another office-looking room stretches in front of you. People and demons alike are walking around the place and pay no attention to you or Karkat as you both walk to who you assume is the secretary, who seems to be talking to someone through her headset.

“Mrs. Leijon.” Karkat says as he clears his throat. The women with the bushy hair and olive eyes looks up and smiles widely at Karkat. She nods as he taps the counter twice and then holds up a finger, some weird exchange between them. She continues to answer someone through the headset and buzzes a button three times in a specific way.

She receives two buzzes in return and points at a door behind her. Karkat nods and takes your hand once again. 

You feel nervous and excited as you reach the door. Karkat takes a deep breath before opening the door.

A man in a black sweater and gray slacks is standing at the end of a long black table looking over a stack of papers. When he hears us walk in he looks up and smiles kindly. 

“Karkat, it's so good to see you. It's been some time.” He says. His voice sounds calm and grave, much like your guardians.

“Yes, 20 years give or take.” Karkat mutters as he squeezes your hand. 

The man's jaw tightens and he sighs. His gaze flickers to yours when you run your hand through your hair. He smiles once again.

“So sorry, I believe we haven't met. Are you friend of Karkat’s?” He says as he walks over to the two of you and extends his arm.

“Boyfriend. My names Dave Strider, big honor meeting you sir.” He grips your forearm in the demonical custom salute.

“Boyfriend?” He quirks an eyebrow at Karkat who just rolls his eyes. “Good to meet you Mr. Strider. I'm Kanker Vantas, Karkat’s father. You might know me as the Signless.” Your eyes widen behind your shades and you gape at him.

“What. What?” You turn your gaze to Karkat and his lips press in a thin line.

“Ta-da…” He mutters as you keep opening and closing your mouth like a dying fish.

“Strider… You don't happen to be from _the_ Striderclan? I'm guessing your a relative of Bronder Strider.”

“Bro, yeah. He's my guardian.” You swallow as the man nods his head.

“Bronder is a guardian now, good for him. Are you his first kindled born?”

 

“N-no. My kin-sibling, Dirk, is. He only raised me and Rose. My father was a realm demon and he and Bro had Dirk. Bro is Dirk’s second parent, he’s my half kin-sibling from my father's side. I’m not sure who helped create me and my twin but Bro thinks she was a Realm Demon.” You feel nervous talking to someone about the inner works of your clan.

“Ah, yes you do look rather young to be Bronder's first spawn. So your mother is a Realm Demon… She can’t be on earth to raise you, it makes sense. And your father? Why did he leave Bronder in charge of all his spawnlings?”

“He was killed in the uprising…” OK, this is starting to get heavy. Karkat clicks his tongue in annoyance.

“You seem young.” 

“Yes sir, I mean, I am sir.” 

“How old are you?” 

“I turn 65 in December.” You say as he hums appreciatively.

“Just a few years younger than Karkat. I think you're as old as Jonathan, isn't he Karkat?”

“Yeah, two years older actually.” Karkat says at your side in a clipped tone.

“I thought you said you were my age” You frown at Karkat and he grins at you.

“I said I wasn't much older than you, I never said I was your age.” 

“How old are you then?”

“I turn 75 in April.” He smirks as you pout.

“Indeed. Kankri, my oldest, he is 86.” Says Mr. Vantas as he goes to sit at a couch in the corner of the room. Karkat follows him and pulls you behind him so you can sit next to him.

“So Karkat, how long have you and Mr. Strider been together?” 

“Nine months.” He says with distant tone.

“Nine months and you've already bound him. Is he your first?” You feel your face heat up and look to the side. 

“Father, what the heck?!” Karkat sputters as he grimaces and hides his face behind his hand.

“Oh god Karkat, I meant your first binding not… Whatever it is you do!” Mr. Vantas is also hiding his face.

“Ugh… Yes, I've never bound myself to a demon before. Ever.”

“May I see your tattoo?” You notice how he refrains calling him his son. He leans forward and Karkat sighs as he rolls his sleeve up. “Intricate design, isn't it? In so little time…”

“I know. Kankri’s isn't so complicated. It's fucking huge but it doesn't have so much… Whatever all this is.” He says as he gestures up and down his arm.

“Mr. Strider, may I see yours, if it isn't any trouble?” You nod and push your sweater up revealing the geometrical lines and swirls on your arm and wrist. 

“Why the hell is it different with us? Has this anything to do with those things that are said to happen?” Karkat’s dad rubs his chin lightly and hums.

“Mr. Strider, you're a greater demon aren't you?”

“Yeah, I mean yes.” You are so fucking rude...

“It might be because of his heritage son, or because of our own. Though if it was because of us, Kankri would have had the same effect on his demon mate. Anything else affected?”

“I can feel his life line. Can see his feelings in my mind and I think I can use his speed though I'm not sure of the last part yet.”

“What about you, Mr. Strider?”

“Just Dave, please.” You murmur.

“Alright. Dave have you felt anything different?”

“I can dream now. Mostly of him, but I can.” You can feel Karkat's gaze on you. You hadn't told him this yet. Demons can’t dream because well, you don’t have a freaking soul. “I can tell if he's lying or not and I can hear his voice inside my head if he calls out for me.” You shrug. 

“What is your aspect, Dave?” 

“Time. I can manipulate time as an object and concept, not only the mental image of time but the physical aspects of it. It's like I'm Father Time being all mysteriously powerful and being able to make someone older or younger as I want to. Some kind of weird grim reaper shit goes on sometimes; sort of like being able to see when someone's time is up. Kinda fucking creepy if you ask me but Bro says it's nothing to be ashamed of, it's supposedly some kind of cool aspect in our culture but I think it's just-” Karkat clasps his hand over your mouth.

“You're rambling, you absolute dicksponge. We get it, you're a weird and rare demon. Whoopty-fucking-doo.” 

“Karkat, you have a fascinating boyfriend. From a very strong heritage. You both make a very dangerous combination.”

“We’re like Starsky and Hutch but with magical time-blood shenanigans.”

“That is a very good movie.” Karkat's dad says and holy fuck your idol likes your favorite movie, what the actual fuck!

“Sir, you are the best person ever.” You smirk at Karkat who just rolls his eyes. 

“Stop fangirling over my dad, asshole.” So you kiss Karkat without even caring about his dad. Who won the boyfriend jackpot? You did, the winner is you.

“Well then. May I treat you both to dinner this week? I'm guessing you have many questions you'd like me to help you answer.” Karkat's dad says when you move away from your boyfriend.  
You both answer at the same time. 

“No.” He spats. 

“Yes.” You frown at him.

“Great, I will tell Miss Leijon to schedule you for next Friday?”

“No.”

“Yes.”

“Splendid, I hate to leave you in such a hurry but the upper council has announced a meeting and I need to see what fuckery is going down.”

“Father, please.”

“Oh come now. Karkat. You think you're the only one with an extensive vocabulary?” He says as he lifts himself from the couch and starts to gather his papers from the table.

“Let’s not let Dave think you aren’t a decent person. I mean, it’s too late for me but Dave can still be shielded from you asinine behavior.”

“Karkat please, I'm sure Dave is accustom to your shit. No point in hiding mine.” He shrugs and bolts out the door. 

Karkat face palms and you grin.

“Your dad is the fucking Signless, you bitch. Why the fuck didn't you tell me?”

“This is exactly why, douchenozzle.” 

“That was the best and most exhilarating conversation I have ever had.”

 _Asshole._ the word is projected into your mind and you grin.

“Kinda turned on right now.” You tell him as you wiggle your eyebrows.

“You're disgusting.” He says as he pulls at your hand.

You both slip out of the room and walk down the hallway stepping into the elevator.

Karkat pushes the number 34 and you look at him quizzically.

“All of that was fun. Wouldn’t you say it was fun? I certainly thought it was fun. We should do it again some time, some family bonding all cozy and nice just-” He claps a hand over your mouth

“Dave, you couldn’t shut your fuckin' trap if your life depended on it.” He smirks and you shrug.

“I just thought it was pretty exciting to meet more members of you family. Your dad is pretty cool.”

“First of all; he’s not my family. Second of all; my father is anything _but_ “cool” so just stop treating him like he’s the fucking savior.” 

Alright, alright. Touchy subject for you, I know the feel. I wasn’t hella close to my parents either.” He glares at you and you kiss the top of his head. 

“Just, just shut up OK?” He leans into your side and you rub his arm soothingly. You’re totally gonna fucking poke at him about this after you go… where are you going?

“Speaking of which... where are we going?” You ask him as the numbers go down.

“We weren’t even speaking of anything related to our destination, fanboy.” He snickers when you pout at the nickname.

“Karkat, no. Come on don’t tease me. Really, I want to know where we’re going unless it’s like a secret, I fuckin' love secrets. Am I getting a surprise party? Maybe we can get wasted and have a neon party. Oh, oh! What about a clown? Humans have clowns go to their kid parties, right? I’d fucking love to meet one of those, damn. Karkat, please tell me you got me a clown! Man, you’re the best for throwing this party in my honor.” You give him a sloppy kiss on the cheek as he snorts and pushes you away.

“Everything is so wrong with what you said, holy fuck. Starting with your “honor” because that has long ago left the building. You’re rambling is getting out of hand. There is no fucking party birdbrain, we’re just going to a place.” 

“Excuse me, I still have a fair amount of honor and shit… And um, what kind of place?” The door to the elevator opens and you step out.

“To met an old friend. Now that I think of it, maybe you’ll actually get to meet a clown.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So to explain Dave's "birth" which in this fic is referred to as spawning, Bro and Alpha Dave had Dirk in a matter of speaking, ( I'm not going really deep into the demon reproduction), Alpha Dave and Mom Lalonde had Rose and Dave, thus them being twins. So Dirk, Dave and Rose have one common parent which is why they're siblings.  
> I mean, that's how it happened in my head. The parents are obviously **not** related in this fic nor have any connections to their canon personas or personalities.


	13. Precise Decisions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stopping by to say hi to your friendly neighborhood clown, Karkat Vantas learns about some very upsetting things going on in the Cult.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I knew I was forgetting to do something yesterday... Sorry for the late update!

You can’t seem to stay still as you wait in the elevator. Dave is talking aimlessly behind you about your meeting with your father. The way he speaks so highly of him is starting to piss you off but you can’t actually bring yourself to tell him you fucking hate the guy.

“So, you never actually told me who we were going to meet. Like, I’m down to meet any of your friends and shit but at least give me a name, just to not be rude?” He shrugs as you both step out of the elevator and into the residence floor. The rooms here are much bigger, made to fit the necessities of families that have decided to join the Cult.

“Yeah well… He’s an old friend. We met back when I was Italy.”

“Ah yes, Italy. Isn’t that where I hit you with a block of cheese?” 

“ _I_ hit you with a block of cheese, as I recall it. You were trying to save a group of spawnling who were experimenting with magic.” You mutter as you walk down the hallway.

“Yeah, nice kids. They got me this really cool sword afterward. So who’s this guy, some lover of yours?”

“Why do your thoughts always drift in that direction? You’re a pretty clingy and jealous guy, aren’t you Strider?” You turn around and smirk at him as you poke his chest. Another wave of desire hits you as you lean close to him. The fucking endorphins from his body keep making you want him to drink your blood again. You guess that’s why they call it a “blood bond” but this is fucking ridiculous! It’s like a constant cycle. He bites you, you fuck around (literally), you come in contact with him, he bites you again. It’s fucking endless.

“You can say that again.”

“I didn’t say shit.” You feel your face heat up and he smirks.

“Babe come on, if you want me out of your mind you could stop screaming your thoughts. I swear you’re the only one who can actually achieve it!” He kisses your temple and you shove his side.

“Fuck off.” You repress a grin as he pokes your side.

You stop at a door to your right and take a deep breath. It’s been a long time so you might be a bit nervous. He might have changed…

“Just knock you dork.” Dave pushed you forward and you grunt but do so anyway. 

Three knocks and you hear shuffling from the other side. When the door opens you're met with a tall figure, at least the same height as Dave, with hair in tangles and curls pulled into a messy bun. Lazy eyes focus on your figure and an equally lazy smile forms on his face.

“Yo, Karbro! Ain’t seen you in like a mother fuckin’ century!” He says. His slouch is barely there anymore and he seems to have three claw marks on his face that weren’t there the last time you saw him but he’s still covered in that ridiculous clown makeup.

He leans down and practically squeezes the life out of you. He pats your back and let’s go after you push him away. 

“Gamzee, you look the fucking same. How is it that you look the same? Actually, how is it that all of you dumbasses look the same? Humans age, right? Why aren’t you assholes aging?” You recall seeing Meulin yesterday, she looked the same as she did 15 years ago… What the fuck?

“Bro, you’re asking a lot of mother fuckin’ questions. Why don’t you just head on in and let me get to explainin’ all this crazy shit.” He gestures for you to walk inside and you slap your face.

“Gamzee, we can’t-”

“Whoa, who’s this tall mother fucker?” Gamzee looks behind you and gives Dave a dopy smile.

“Yo what up tall dude, name’s Dave.” He holds his fist out to Gamzee who bumps his back.

“Nice, nice. I knew a mother fucker with your name once.” Dave quirks an eyebrow waiting for Gamzee to elaborate but he doesn’t.

“Gamzee!” You roll your eyes and he nods.

“Yep. So you hangin’ out we the rad dudes now, Karbro? Last time we talked you were trying to kill one of these rad dudes… He wore some shades, just like you!.” Gamzee points at Dave who smirks.

“Ironical isn’t it?” Dave wiggles his eyebrows and Gamzee nods.

“Hell yeah bro.” Gamzee gestures inside of his apartment and you both follow him in.

“He’s the same one. We’re sort of… a thing now.” You murmur the last part and Dave snickers behind you.

“Whoa. You’re friends with a demon fellow? Mother fuck. That’s some miracle at work right there.” You groan in frustration and shake your head. Goddammit, Gamzee.

“Wait a fuckin’ second. Gamzee Makara. As in the artist, from the Makara family?” Dave says as he looks around the apartment. It’s covered in paintings; he has a few sketch books on a table and a couple of brushes in a jar.

“Nah, bro. Ain’t no fuckin’ artist, I just do what I like. My bro and ol’ man are more the artist than me.” Gamzee actually looks embarrassed as Dave looks around the apartment complementing his paintings.

“No dude, I will buy one of your paintings, any one of them. Karkat, babe my wallet.” Dave makes grabby hands at your side and you huff.

“You don’t _have_ a wallet, douchelord. Now shut up and sit down.” You sit next to Gamzee on his large velvety green couch. His face suddenly lights up and he gapes at you.

“What the flying fuck, Gamzee. Why are you staring at me like a brain dead monkey?” Dave flops over to your side and throws an arm over your shoulder.

“You and the demon-bro are _dating_? That’s motherfuckin’ wicked! Right on, Kar!” He extends his fist and you bump it, feeling your face heat up as Dave smirks.

“Gamzee, please I was going to ask you-”

“So Dave bro, can I call you Dave? So Dave… What type of demon are ya?” Dave chuckles and you give Gamzee a “I can’t believe you right now” look.

“Gamz, you can’t just fucking be blunt about this type of thing! It’s his personal shit so-”

“Nah, man. I was just mother fuckin’ curious. Never actually had the time to chat up one of these fuckers. I’m curios. Can’t I just be curious? Dave bro, if you feel like I’m pryin’ too much sorry.” Gamzee shrugs a shoulder and you facepalm.

“It’s alright, dude. I’m an Avisangui. My bro, he’s an Arceterra and my twin sibling, she’s a Tendere. Our demon spawner wasn’t really keen on having one mate, if you catch my drift.” Even with his stupid shades you know the douchebag winked.

“Damn bro that’s fuckin’ crazy. So you’re an avisangui... does that mean, you know,” He makes a gesture with his fingers imitating fangs. You resist the urge to punch yourself in the face but Dave just lets out a chortle.

“Yeah bro, I drink blood. Not always but it’s necessary at moments. Just part of the curse of being an immortal soulless beauty, it keeps my skin soft and flawless. OK, that’s a lie but it does give me enough energy to be awake for a few days straight or fly longer distances. Just makes me more energized, you get what I’m sayin’?” He shrugs and slumps further into the couch, clearly at ease.

“That’s some magical shit man. Then again, lot’s of things revolvin’ your kind are pretty magical. So what’s the process like? Does it hurt? What I mean iss, what’s the red shit taste like, bro? I imagine it’s like some wicked elixir for ya.”

“Well dude, it taste mighty well from a living person. Animal does shit for me but the substitutes are OK. As for the process, I’ve heard it feels hella fucking swell, bro.” Dave tips his head slightly towards you and your face heats up. Asshole.

“Great! Has this q&a session wrapped up? Is the “ask demon twenty fucking questions” over? Good, now everyone shut the hell up and let’s set some shit straight, shall we?” You cross your arms at look at both of them in annoyance. 

“Sure thing, Karbro. Ask all the questions you want and I’ll try to answer.” 

“Finally. First of all, how come you’re still fucking 22. Humans age, Makara. What sort of bullshit are you and everyone else in this crazy institue getting into?”

“It ain’t nothin’ bad, bro. The Cult’s been workin’ with some magic and that miracle shit. It’s just a somethin’ you can decide to do or not. Just drink the wicked bottled juice and extend your life. Though the price is a bit risky for some. Not for me though, I was fine with it.”

“Life enhancers… Does the order know about this or is the Cult working in the shadows? This could be very dangerous you nutball. If it’s amateur magic you could get killed and if the magic doesn’t kill you, the fucking order might cull you for it! Humans aren’t supposed to mess around with magic for these same reasons!” 

“It’s alright, bro. The Cult leader knows what he’s doin’ this for.” He sighs.

“Yo, Karkat’s pop, right?” Dave says and you groan.

“Yeah, the Signless. That bro knows what he’s getting himself into. He also told us what would fuckin’ happen if we up and decided to down that sweet shit. We all knew the risk, bro.”

“No, Gamzee! You don’t know the fucking danger, that asshole is only thinking about his stupid political affairs, you think he cares about a couple of humans who decided to have fun with magic?” Dave squeezes your shoulder and you snap you mouth shut. You didn’t mean to scream at Gamzee but the topic of your father always sets you off. 

“It’s OK, karbro. I know this ain’t something you like to talk about. But you think The Grand would’ve let us do somethin’ stupid without knowing what was goin’ on? My ol’ man may be a grumpy chaotic mess but he knows his shit.” Gamzee pats your shoulder and you nod. Yes, Gamzee’s dad wouldn’t have let neither of his sons go through some shit experiment without being informed of the consequences. 

“So what was the price? I’m imagine it was quite a sum…” You murmur but Gamzee shakes his head.

“It ain’t about money, bro. All this shit was to get people to join the cause. We all know what’s up and coming for us, bro so we just decided to be a part of it instead of hidin’ around like mother fuckin’ cowards.”

“Wait, what the fuck are you talking about? What fucking cause?!” Dave grips your shoulder again and you settle back down at his side. Gamzee pats your arm reassuringly and your frown.

“The war, bro. Fucking war between your kind and his kind!” He says as he gestures at Dave. You feel him tense at your side and you clench your jaw.

“What war, there’s not a war.” You murmur.

“Yeah bro, there is. Or there’s gonna? I ain’t sure about the details. I just know some shit is going down and the Signless needs some people to stand with him. Mother fucker ain’t gonna fight by himself, ya know? He’s got so many people at his side right now it’s fuckin’ crazy. My ol’ man? He’s been recruiting some demons around those lands we were livin’ at. Fuckin’ miraculous if I do say so myself. That’s what we get in exchange for our participation bro, mother fuckin’ extended life.” He smiles lazily and you gape at him. How can he take this so calmly?!

“Yo, Makara bro. You know this shit ain’t gonna be all pacifist and love bull shit, right? No offense but you seem more of a lover than a fighter. Have you actually thought this through?” Dave leans over to look at Gamzee and your stupid friend nods.

“I know bro, that’s how I got me these the first month,” He point at the scratches on his face, “Didn’t know shit about fightin’ or this combat shit. Got myself paired up with the Leijon girl, Nepsis. She fuckin’ wrecked me. Accidentally cut me though. What’re you gonna do about it?”

“Gamzee this is fucking serious. You’re getting ready for a goddamn war! You could…” You can’t even finish the sentence. 

“I know bro, but it’s a risk we’re takin’ for _you_.” He smiles and you blanch.

“Excuse me. Please repeat that again, did you say for _me_?” 

“Yeah bro, we all know you’re the one fucker who’ll fix this fuckin’ mess. You’re the miraculous savior up in this bitch!” He laughs and you stare at Dave. 

_He’s fucking kidding, right?_

_Kanaya said-_

_I know what she fucking said. I was there asshole but I can’t… I can’t lead people, Dave. My fucking father he probably set this up._

“Hey karbro, you OK? You look all pale and lost.” Gamzee shakes a hand in front of your face and you blink.

“Fuck, yeah I’m OK. I just… Gamzee, you’ve already taken a decision and I can’t change it but… Be careful, asshole. I-” You can’t even say it! You’re a huge dick, you can’t even tell your friend you care for him. Luckily he knows what you mean, he leans over and hugs you tight. He pats your back and smiles his stupid smile.

“It’s gonna be OK, bro. Got them magical miracles workin’ for us, remember?” You sigh and stand up.

“Fine, you delirious cracker. Gamz, we need to leave for a moment. We’re going to be here for a few days so we’ll see you again, OK?” You slap Dave’s knee and he pouts.

“Aw man, I wanted to keep talking to, Gambro.”

“No worries mother fucker. I’ll just fuckin’ add you to my pesterchum. You cool with that, mother fucker?” Dave holds his fist out and they bump again. You groan and roll your eyes.

Dave scribbles his handle on a piece of paper and Gamzee clasps his back in a friendly gesture.

“Come on, you can schedule your playdate some other time!” You tap your foot impatiently on the floor.

Honestly, who would’ve thought these two dickheads would actually get along?

______________________________________________________________________________

 

You’re walking down the hall, well more like _stomping_ down the hall with Dave in tow.

“Babe what the hell? Can you at least tell me where we’re going?” Dave says as he stumbles behind you.

“To see my goddamn father.” You grit out.

“Cool um… Can you loosen your grip? You’re crushing my fingers.” You roll your eyes but let go of his hand altogether.

You get to his office and don’t even bother knocking. Luckily for him, he’s alone.

“Karkat what are-”

“What the fuck is your problem? What kind of goddamn training facility are you fucking running here? Are you insane getting humans involved into our affairs? They could, _will_ get killed. You’ve done some shitty things in the past but this? This is too much. What the hell are you thinking? Nothing good will come out of this.” You shout at him. He remains unfazed by your outburst which only helps in filling your anger.

“Dave, I think it would be best if you let me and my son talk for a while.” He looks behind you to Dave who’s standing awkwardly behind you.

“He’s not going anywhere. Anything you need to fucking tell me you can say in front of him. We’re fucking bound to each other for godsake. You don’t fucking get to decide who listens to your fucking sermons right now.” 

“Karkat, it’s OK I can leave.” Dave whispers and you shake your head.

“I’m assuming you have talked to Gamzee and he has informed you of our newest campaign.” He sighs and rubs his forehead.

“This isn’t a fucking political debate. This is _real_ people giving their mortality up to participate in a war that isn’t theirs. And you keep going around claiming I’m some fucking rebellion leader. This is all bullshit, you’re fucking Cult is a goddamn lie.” 

“Karkat this Cult has sacrificed a lot. People know what they’re going to give up. They know the risks and implications, son-”

“Don’t fucking call me your son.” 

“Karkat, I-”

“I’m leaving.” You turn on your heel and walk to the door when it swings open revealing your brother, his kin-mate and Kanaya fucking Maryam.

“What in the bulgefondeling fuck are you three doing here?” You say as you gesture at them.

“I invited them here. I think you need to talk to your family, Karkat.” Kanaya tells you and god you wanna punch her.

“I don’t _need_ to do shit.” 

“Karkat, please. Kanaya is correct, we need to sort these matters out. It’s high time we address your problem.” Kankri walks up to you but you step back.

“My problem? What is _my_ fucking problem?” You shout at them but it’s Dave who answers you.

“You resent your family for abandoning you. You’re afraid to confront them. You don’t want to be a part of this war.” He’s serious, the most serious you’ve ever seen him. You can’t speak, your mouth feels dry. 

You can’t deal with this bullshit, you won’t. You never asked for this crap. It isn’t your responsibility. You don’t owe anyone shit. So you do the reasonable, adult thing:

You run out of the room. 

Run out of the office room and push past whoever gets in your way. You frantically push the button of the elevator but when you hear the door to your father's office open you decide to run down the stairs.

When you reach the lobby of the building you run out the door into the rain. 

“Karkat!” His voice makes your eyes sting.

“Leave me the fuck alone.” You shout back.

“Karkat, please you can’t just leave and turn your back on things.” 

“Watch me asshole. This all started because of you, I can’t do this. If being with you means I need to face this shit well I just, I won’t do it, Dave.” You stop in your tracks and turn to face him. He pulls his shades off and you can see his pained expression.

“Karkat… This, this can be fixed. We can do this, you won’t be alone. If you just speak to your family-”

“Those assholes aren’t my family!” You scoff.

“Yes the are!” You’ve never heard him scream. “They are, whether you like it or not. Stop acting like a goddamn spawn and face your problems! If I held grudges as bad as you I’d still be pissed off at my bro. Karkat you _need_ to forgive them or at least stop blaming them for everything you've been through.” Dave walks towards you and you take a step back ready to jolt.

“They left me, Dave. They left me and I don’t know if I can forgive them for that.” You mutter.

“They’re back now, Karkat and they want to make things right. Give them a chance.” He whispers.

“They’ll leave again and I’ll break…”

“If they leave again, I’ll be with you. I won’t leave you, ever. I love you, Karkat. We can do this, we’ll figure out a way to live this out. I’ll be with you the whole time. Just give us a chance.” He holds his hand out and you feel your throat .

You stare at his extended hand but you can’t reach for it. You’re feeling uneasy, having doubts. You’re _afraid_. You can’t, you want to but you can’t…

Dave closes his hand and his arm falls to his side. The expression of pain and hurt is evident on his face and it breaks you. He turns around and no, you can’t let him leave. Dave is the only good thing that has come from this and if it’s the only thing you’ll get out of all this shitstorm, well fuck it. He’s enough.

“Dave!” You call out and he turns back to you.

You feel it even before he opens his mouth. His face flickers from hope to worry in an instant. The shiver runs down your spine and you clutch the knife in your belt hurl it behind you in one quick movement.

Your cloaked attacker shifts out of the way and the knife clatters to the floor. You pull out your sickle and swing it over your head before the attackers sword hits your face. The loud clang of the weapons hurts your ear but you twist and swing towards the person once again and this time manage to make a hit. The cloaked figure raises his arm once again and you raise your sickle in an effort to disarm it but their strength is too much for one of your hands so you push against him with both hands. This turned out to be a mistake because this leaves your sides unprotected.

As the figure pulls out another dagger, a growl resonates behind you and you notices as the figures begins to move towards you in a much slower pace. You flick your wrists and disarm the figure, stepping out of their reach. From behind them, claws rake at his throat and slice it open.

Dave bares his teeth as the figure slumps onto the pavement. From its wound, black liquid oozes out.

You crouch down and place a hand over it putting your blood abilities to use, trying to find an identity or a motive but you recoil instantly. You feel no blood in its system, no memories. Nothing but a faint spark of life given to it by someone with control over dark magic.

“It’s not human. It’s made up of darkness, tendrils of… Chaos.” You tell Dave as you stand up.

He doesn’t seem to be paying attention to you. His ears are perked, his gaze sweeps from left to right and his tail flickers from side to side.

“Hey,” You touch his shoulder lightly and he growls, “Hey asshole, look at me. It’s fine. I can’t feel anything. Whatever it was, it’s dead.” You touch his cheek and his eyes snap to yours.

“I could’ve lost you. Kanaya was right and I was going to leave you alone with those things following you-” He pulls you close to his chest and you furrow your brow.

“I’m fine, Dave. Nothing happened! And what do you mean, those? It’s just this one thing.” He rolls his eyes and looks behind you so you follow his gaze and wow he’s right.

Where Dave had been standing two black masses are slumped on the floor. Suddenly, you notice what would’ve happened without Dave. You were already having trouble with this first one but three? You would’ve… fuck.

“Fuck is right, you fuckin’ idiot. What the hell was I gonna do without ya, huh?” His accent seeps through and you clutch him closer to you. “Fuck, I’m never letting you out of my sight.” He murmurs into your hair.

“Wow, that isn’t stalkerish at all.” You say as you kiss his temple.

“Shut the hell up.” He says pecking your lips softly.

“Come on, we need to inform someone about this. I’ve never seen anything like them.” You pull his hand towards the other two bodies on the floor.

“They’re stronger than most shit I’ve dealt with. Fuckers reek of death.” Dave says as he wrinkles his nose in disgust.

“Dave, you ripped those things apart…” You murmur as you look at the torn bodies. He shrugs.

“I needed to get to you.” He says simply. 

You decide to take pictures of those things and collect a sample of their black blood in a vial. Yes, you fucking walk around with vials. It’s in your line of duty!

“So now what?” You murmur to Dave as he shrugs on your hoodie. He seems to have ripped his shirt when he shifted into his demon form.

“Now we deal with your dad and bro.” 

“Do we have to?” You pout.

“Yes, we do. _You do_.” You groan and hang your head in defeat. Dave tilts your chin up and kisses you sweetly.

“What was that for?” You whisper a bit dazed.

“For support. Now come on, family feud to fucking fix bro.” 

 

______________________________________________________________________________

grimAuxiliatrix [GA] began pestering  tentacleTherapist [TT]

GA: My Move Is Complete. Bishop To E3

grimAuxiliatrix [GA] ceased pestering  tentacleTherapist [TT]

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm aware I didn't explain the demon types in the fic but I thought it would be pointless for Dave to explain a concept that is know all over the world since they've been living with demons since forever. But here is an explanation for the Striders, Jake, Rufioh, Cronus and Meenah demon types, obviously it's not limited to this there are more species. I don't even know if that's the correct term. Also, I came up with the names just combining some latin words
> 
> Dave is an **Avisangui** which is _avis_ : bird _sangui_ : blood. Mostly taking this from the idea of Davesprite being a bird and I threw in some classic demon feeding off flesh and blood because I'm unoriginal.
> 
>  
> 
> Dirk, an **Arceterra** which is _arcebus_ : sharp, _terra_ : earth. I based him on the idea of being a katana wielder which is a sharp weapon and from earth well because I thought it would be ironic for the guy who group up surrounded by ocean to be associated with earth.
> 
> Rose is a **Tendere** which literally means tendril in latin, obviously getting the idea from tentacles and tendrils of darkness.
> 
> Jake would be a **Lacerodonta** , _lacertus_ means lizard, _odonta_ is dragonfly but more specifically it's derived from toothed jaw.
> 
> Rufioh was pretty easy, a **Avisnocturne** , again _avis_ : bird and _nocturnus_ : nocturnal. I wanted his wings to be a part of his character and also that he's a DJ so it seemed appropriate to think he was nocturnal.
> 
> Cronus and Meenah were both a special case because they're both from the Ocean but not living in the same place;  
> Cronus would be a **Oceanusmare** which means _oceanus_ : ocean and _mare_ : sea, since his species is all around the world covering oceans and seas.  
> Meenah is a **Oceanusdeprimo** which would have the end different, _deprimo_ that is depression as in deep, like Ocean deep.
> 
> Sorry this end note was so ling I just wanted to explain the demons!


	14. Resistance is Futile

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When things start getting out of control and you need a leader to take place... Who you gonna call? Karkat Vantas, that's who.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I remember when I said this was going to be a quick short fic. I am a liar. One day I'll stick to my plan.

You watch as they walk back into the building. Karkat seems shaken about something and the way Dave keeps fluttering at his side makes you worry.

“What’s up with all the commotion with your little kin-sibling?” Cronus turns to you and you shake your head and shrug.

“I’m not sure.” You fold your arms over your chest and sigh.

You look over to them you see Karkat waving his hands around and shaking his head as Dave tells him something with insistency. He’s not wearing those shades you’ve seen him wear all the time and it peaks your curiosity but don’t make a move to ask about it.

Kanaya walks back out of the building and Karkat turns to follow her but Dave grabs his wrist. He holds his shoulders and Karkat gives him a an affectionate smile while he cups his jaw. You turn away to give them some privacy.

“I feel out of place…” You mutter to Cronus.

“How come? We’ve been here before, chief. It’s all the same shit.” He says looking around and you click your tongue.

“It isn’t because of where we are. I was referring to the situation. Something happened out there, something that made Kanaya send Dave after my brother with so much urgency.” You glance back at both boys and see Dave burying his face in Karkat’s neck as said boy rubs his back soothingly.

“So why don’t you just go ahead and ask ‘em? It ain’t like you’re stranger or somethin’ so I don’t understand-”

“Of course you don’t understand! You get to see your clan every other day or so, I was ripped away from my family because of my father. Now my brother has made a family of his own and I have to sit here and watch from the outside. It’s absolutely heartbreaking, Cronus. I’m an acquaintance to my own brother.” He walks to your side and wraps his arms around you cooing softly and it takes everything you have not to cry. 

“I know what you’re tellin’ me. I’ve been at your side since it happened. Have you thought maybe tellin’ him what really went on instead of just givin’ him half of the truth? Your pops had some time to come clean to your little bro and he dodged all the questions and gave him made up answers. So if your dad don’t wanna tell him the truth, go ahead and tell him yourself.” He pulls away to see your face and you make a face. 

“Since when did you get so smart?” You smile at him. He frowns but his blush gives him away.

“I was always smart…” He pouts and you laugh.

“Hey! Is your moment over already? When the fuck are you going to decide to come and join this investigation you misshapen rhombus!” You turn to see Karkat tapping his foot impatiently on the floor. You frown back but inside you feel yourself lighten. He _actually_ wants your help.

“Did he just insult us in shape form?” Cronus asks as you tug his hand.

“Hell yeah I did, fishbait. You got a problem with that?” Karkat curls his lip and Dave smirks at him.

“Very mature, Karkat. Great insult coming from the guy dating Count Birdcula over there.” You tilt your chin towards Dave and Karkat scoffs.

“Oh and jaws over here is much butter?”

“At least I don’t double as my kin-mates lunch!” 

“Well at least _I_ don’t kiss a fucking sushi with legs!” 

“Yeah and your molting bird must be such a delight!”

“Hey babe maybe you should lighten up with the whole brotherly hate-love, it’s starting to get out of hand.” Dave winces when Karkat smacks his arm.

“Yeah chief. Besides, _we’re_ the ones gettin’ insulted here.”

“Shut up!” You and Karkat yell at your particular partners.

“Oh dear, what happened?” Kanaya walks in and your face heats up. You can just imagine what she’s seeing; you and Karkat glaring at each other while Cronus and Dave stand awkwardly behind you two. How ridiculous.

“I’m sorry that was terribly immature of myself, I do apologize I don’t know what got over me.” You hold your hands together, face heating up as Kanaya quirks an eyebrow at you.

“Yeah, really fucking immature.” Karkat feins disappointment and shakes his head.

“Shut the hell up, Karkat.” You snap and he smirks.

“Both of you stop, you’re acting like a pair of little kids. Now please, see me in the meeting’s office ten a minute so I can inform you of my findings and so Karkat can catch you up on what just occurred. Although by the looks of things, “she shoots you and your brother a look and you feel even more embarrassed for your sudden outbursts, “I suggest Dave recount the events instead. Karkat seems to be catching up with years of not tormenting his brother.

She turns away and before leaving she looks back.

“Ten minutes, boys. Please try to behave yourselves while you wait.” 

“Great way of catchin’ up with your sibling, babe. Nailed it with the whole annoying brothers routine.” Cronus snickers at your side and you glare at him.

______________________________________________________________________________

“So what you’re telling me is that I was attacked by a being made out of tendrils of evil and darkness?” Karkat rolls his eyes as Kanaya stares at him with her lips pursed.

“Why is that so funny to believe? By all accounts I should be the one laughing, you’re dating a demon.” She gestures at you and Karkat scoffs.

“Good point. Also, when I ripped the things throat, it’s blood tasted like liquorice.” 

“Is this relevant, does that mean something?” Kankri turns to you with interested eyes, actual curiosity lacing his words.

“Nah man, liquorice is just plain fucking evil.” He frowns but Cronus, who’s sitting at his side, lets out a laugh.

“Yes, thank you for your input… The point is, the Nox witch has started to stir things up. We must believe this is a united effort. If my sources are correct she isn’t even a wielder of dark magic. Besides, only hunters had access to dark magic books to keep them away from the danger and even then, not many hunters had access to the grimoires and even less had access to those containing dark chaotic spells.” Kanaya turns towards Kankri and Cronus.

“I know the sea demons were in charge of the capture of a notorious hunter who begin dealing in the combination of dark and light magic to create creatures… Is there any way Ma-”

“Nuh uh. No way, doll. That ship sailed a long time ago. The point of the whole accord bein’ signed was because the demons didn’t trust you hunters in keepin’ one of your own locked away in the Medium. Since the ocean is the biggest realm accessible to you people with souls, the underwater chambers was agreed to be used as a prison for hunters. No one comes out of that place. Ain’t no way she could’ve just walked outta there.” Cronus crosses his arms and chews around the toothpick in his mouth.

“OK fine so we count whoever the fuck you were referring to out, whatever. What I want to know if I’m gonna have to be on the lookout for more of those shits because if I have to lose my human form in public, I’m gonna need to buy more shirts. And I’ll probably be sent to the Medium cause that shit’s against your laws.” You tell Kanaya and she bites her lip.

“I cannot say you won’t encounter anymore. I’m guessing the whole point of sending those shadow men was to put an end to Karkat but then again, they could have attacked him at random. Maybe if some other person had been there they would’ve attacked them as well but we will never be certain.” She gives you a sad look and you sigh.

“Jesus fuck, so I’m supposed to sit here and let him walk around like a piece of ham waiting for wolves to reach out and take a bite out of him?” You growl in exasperation.

“Excuse you? I’m not fucking useless! I wasn’t named the top hunter of the century for a reason! I have a fucking set of skills-”

“A set of skills you’ll use to fucking look for me and destroy me?” You snort and he punches your shoulder.

“He’s not defenseless, Dave. I am sure my brother can defend himself-” Kankri tells you.

“Fucking thank you.” Karkat nods.

“...But I do agree with you, if he’s going to be followed by those things, he’s basically a sitting duck.” Kankri finishes.

“No, fuck you both. I can defend myself.” He crosses his arms and pouts. 

“Karkat I have been speaking to Rose-”

“Oh gee, here we fucking go. All right, and what have the two flighty broads concluded?” Karkat rolls his eyes and you snicker.

“Karkat!” Kankri reprimands him and this time Cronus rolls his eyes.

“We think it’s best for you to take charge of this whole situation.” She says. You tense your shoulders and look at Karkat from the corner of your eye. You know what she means but you’re dreading Karkat’s reaction.

“Me? What the fuck am I supposed to do I don’t know shit about these magic shits, I didn’t even study basic knowledge of the elements, how the fuck am I supposed to deal with class 5 magic?” He huffs. He doesn’t seem to understand that Kanaya meant he should take charge of the _whole_ situation. She shoots you a pleading glance for help but what the fuck are you supposed to say. Luckily for you it’s Cronus who sighs and decides to take one for the team.

“Chief, she meant you should take charge of the group, the whole goddamn assembly. Take your dad's place as leader.” He rushes his words and instantly braces himself behind Kankri for Karkat’s outburst. We all do. To everyone’s surprise, he doesn’t say a word.

You look over to him and his face is contorted into an expression of confusion and fear. He’s looking at his hands in his laps and shifting in his seat, shoulders curled inward and biting insistently on his lip. 

_How?_ his voice floats in your mind laced with worry but no anger. _I’m not cut out for this, I’ll fuck it up. They’ll die because of me._

_No one will die because of you. No one ever has. No death that occurred close to you was your fault, you told me once. They all decided to ignore your orders or warnings._

_But as a leader I should have-_

_You can’t save everyone, Karkat._

Kanaya and Kankri begin to give him reasons as to why he needs to understand, that they know it’s a big challenge but blablabla. You both ignore them and continue your exchange.

_I’m not a leader. I don’t have the skills_ His voice is small, a change to his usual loud authoritative voice.

_Karkat, you're a blood hunter; you connect with people, convince them of your ideals and plans. You care for them and protect them. You can feel their emotions, their souls. You know how to make them trust you. You can unite them, change minds and bring them together. You have the skills to be a leader, you just need to take up the position and assume your rightful place._ His head snaps up to see your eyes and you smile. He nods and you hold his hand giving him a reassuring squeeze.

“...Furthermore, if anyone is cut out to lead a rebellion or well, placate an usurping if we’re being precise, it would be you. Father is old, he lacks our blood magic and I am certainly not a leader. I cannot even make Cronus clean up his room.” He throws his hands up and huffs.

“He’s right.” Cronus smiles a full shark tooth smile.

“Thank you Kankri, I didn’t hear a word you fucking uttered but I’m sure the bullshit you spewed was inspiring and convincing. Fine shitheads, you want a fucking leader? You got one. If I so much as hear a fucking complaint from anyone I’m going to fill my ears with a thousand tiny daggers. Now, someone needs to tell my father his time as ruler of a communal human slash demon slash ex-hunters clan is over.” He crosses his arms and rolls his eyes.

“Oh. Well I thought that would be much more difficult.” Kankri blinks but slumps back into Cronus’ embrace.

“I will inform Rose at once. Karkat, I think you should tell our group of friends as soon as you can. It would also be a good idea if you introduce Dave. Rose has already set a date for you to visit her clan.” She pulls out her phone and beings to type.

“Whoa, whoa. What do you mean she set a date? No one fucking told me shit. I’m supposed to take my boyfriend, who happens to be the most know hunter, into the demon parts of town to introduce him to my clan. Did she not think I’d want a freaking heads up? Maybe “hey Dave come introduce Karkat to a bunch of demons who are fucking afraid of him.” No? Really fucking swell Rose, always a team player.” You cross your arms in annoyance and a low growl resonates in your chest.

“She says she sent you a message and you responded, and she is quoting: “Yeah, yeah. Sure, I’ll take my hot baby doll to meet the fam. Can’t wait, text me the date later, see you soon sis.” Terribly sorry Dave but that does sound an awful lot like you.” She presses her lips together obviously trying to suppress a smile. Your face heats up and Karkat buries his face into his hands. Kankri looks like he swallowed something and is now choking on it and at his side Cronus is lifting an eyebrow. 

“All of you can fuck off, I wasn’t really aware of what I was texting. It’s like I was on auto-Dave. My seven senses weren’t in check.” 

“We only have five senses, six if you are a hunter.” Kankri mutters.

“Nah babe, greater demons have an extra sense which is connected to the demon realm. It’d be hard to explain since I ain’t actually a greater demon.” 

“Jesus fucking christ eating a sandwich. Can everyone just, shut the fuck up for a second. God I hate this fucked-up backwards make-shift of a clan.”

You smile. You don’t, you actually feel like you belong.

______________________________________________________________________________

carcinoGeneticist [CG] opened memo on board GODDAMN HERO SQUAD.

CG: ALRIGHT ASSHOLES, HERE’S WHAT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. YOU ARE ALL GOING TO SHUT UP FOR A FEW SECONDS WHILE I INFORM YOU OF MY CURRENT WHEREABOUTS AND WHAT I’VE BEEN DOING FOR THESE PAST FEW MONTHS.

turntechGodhead [TG] responded to memo.

TG: you mean who you’ve been doing for these past months

ectoBiologist [EB] responded to memo.

EB: uh… karkat? who’s your friend?

CG: I JUST FUCKING SAID, GIVE ME A SECOND TO EXPLAIN EVERYTHING BUT YOU ASSHOLES GO AHEAD AND IGNORE ME.

TG: sup my names dave

gardenGnostic [GG] responded to memo.

GG: dave strider??? as in the demon youve been chasing around for ages??? :o

tipsyGnostalgic [TG] responded to memo.

TG: oh em gee karkat! when i told you to look for a lustful adventure i totes did not mean u should go and bang a demon but i wont judge you, whatever floats ur butt!

TG: whoopsie i meant boat

gallowsCalibrator [GC] responded to memo.

GC: K4RK4T 1 C4NT B3L13V3 YOU K3PT TH1S 4 S3CR3T FROM M3! 1 THOUGHT W3 W3R3 FR13NDS!

twinArmageddons [TA] responded to memo.

TA: wow kk, ii cant beliieve you're bangiing a demon. what2 iit liike? doe2 he have a 2caled diick?

TG: actually mustard dude i dont

TA: well what do you have

CG: THIS ISN’T THE TIME FOR YOU TO ASK DAVE TWENTY QUESTIONS ABOUT HIS REVOLTING DEMON ORGANS.

TG: you didnt seem to think they were revolting a few hours ago

CG: FUUUUCK NGHHHH.

TA: wow kk

GC: N1C3 JOB CH3RRY T3XT 1 TH1NK YOU BROK3 H1M H3H3H3

TG: oooo karkat you just got pwnd

EB: ew that is totally gross demon dude i did not want to know that :(

TG: the names dave dude 

CG: EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP. I’M ABOUT TO APPOINT MYSELF AS LEADER OF THIS GROUP AND AN EVEN BIGGER GROUP SO I SUGGEST YOU ALL SHUT YOUR WINDPIPES AND LISTEN UP:

CG: I’M GOING TO TAKE OVER THE CULT.

GG: what ??? but karkat you hate the cult because of well… you know :(

CG: HARLEY, YOU CAN SAY THE WORD *FATHER*. I’M NOT GOING TO BURST INTO TEARS LIKE SOME CHILD. 

EB: but karkat you said you didn’t even go visit your father and now you’ve decided to take up his place!

CG: AS I SAID BEFORE, JOHN. SHUT THE HELL UP AND LET ME EXPLAIN.

TG: oh so youre john egbert

EB: heh, yeah!

CG: DAVE, PLEASE NOT NOW. 

CG: AS I WAS SAYING, I’M GOING TO TAKE OVER THE CULT FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL OUR KINDS. THERE IS A VERY BIG CHANCE THAT WE WILL ALL SOON BE INVOLVED IN A WAR. THIS WAR IS BECAUSE SOME DOUCHE LORD DEMON ISN’T HAPPY WITH THE WAY THE ORDER HAS BEEN TREATING HIS KIND. ALSO BECAUSE HE WANTS TO TAKE OVER THE GODDAMN WORLD AND USURP THE DEMON LEADER AND PUMMEL THIS REALM INTO DARKNESS AND DESTRUCTION.

CG: THE ORDER IS A GIGANTIC FRAUD. THEY’VE BEEN EXPERIMENTING AND KILLING DEMONS FOR THEM TO GAIN KNOWLEDGE OVER THE USE OF THE ABILITIES THEY HAVE. THEY WANT TO USE THEM TO ERADICATE THE WHOLE SPECIES.

CG: FOR OBVIOUS REASONS, I CAN’T LET THEM DO IT. 

TG: fyi kiddies im the reason

CG: DAVE SHUT THE FUCK UP

TG: awww thats so cute!! its adorable i love u guys

CG: ROXY PLEASE.

CG: SO SINCE BOTH ASSHATS HAVE DECIDED TO DESTROY EACH OTHER, THEY SETTLED ON WAGING A GODDAMN WAR AND THIS TIME NO HUMAN LEADER IS GOING TO BE ABLE TO STOP THEM. IT HAS TO BE THE UNION OF OUR SPECIES TO MAKE THEM STOP. WE’LL BE THE DEFENDING TEAM.

GC: TH1S 1S 4LL GOOD 4ND GR34T K4RK4T BUT W3 4LR34DY KN3W 4BOUT TH1S DUH

CG: WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU MEAN? NOBODY OUTSIDE THE CULT AND SOME FEW ASSHOLES KNOW ABOUT THIS.

GG: kanaya told us :D

CG: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK

CG: SO WHY ARE YOU ACTING ALL SURPRISED WITH ME BEING WITH DAVE?

TA: becau2e we liike two me22 wiith you kk

TG: we also want to know how the fricking is

EB: ew roxy no we don’t!

GG: actually i dont want to know either, if its ok

CG: I FUCKING HATE YOU ALL.

CG: I NEED YOU ALL TO COME TO THE CULT'S BASE NEXT MONTH WHEN I TAKE OVER. TELL PORRIM AND THE OTHERS ALTHOUGH I IMAGINE THE ALREADY KNOW AS WELL.

EB: so you’re really going to do it? you’re going to take over the cult?

CG: YES, JOHN. I AM GOING TO BE THE LEADER.

TA: great job, kk. we alway2 knew you had iit iin you.

GC: FOR ONC3 YOULL B3 DO1NG SOM3TH1NG FUN H3H3

TG: youll be totally fine sweetie, we can help you out ;)

GG: yeah, we’ll always be there karkat!!

TG: aw how cute, nice family you got karkat cant wait to meet you all especially you john

EB: how come?

TG: cause ive heard a lot about you

EB: huh? 

GC: G4SP!

TA: oh 2nap!

GG: poor john! he doesnt get it you guys :p

TG: i’ll tell u later john *wonk*

CG: FUCK OFF. GET OUT OF HERE, I’LL SEE YOU NEXT MONTH.

TA: have fun haviing 2ex wiith your double-bulged demon boyfriiend, kk

twinArmageddons [TA] ceased responding to memo.

TG: i hope you tell me more about your fricky frack adventures later karkat ;)

tipsyGnostalgic [TG] ceased responding to memo.

CG: WHY IS EVERYONE SO OBSESSED WITH DEMON SEX? 

GC: B3C4US3 W3’V3 N3V3R 3XP3R1M3NT3D 4NYTH1NG W1TH 4 D3MON 4ND YOU’R3 TH3 ONLY LUCKY ON3 WHO’S GOTT3N TO M1NGL3 W1TH ON3! 4LSO, N1C3 JOB SN4GG1NG TH3 FORM3R B4D BOY HOTT13

TG: karkat i like teal girl already, give me her handle so we can become the raddest of friends 

GC: YOUR3 V3RY FUNNY D4V3, NO WOND3R K4RK4T L1K3S YOU. 1F YOU 3V3R H4RM H1M 1’LL PLUCK YOUR F34TH3RS 4ND STUFF TH3M UP YOUR 4SS. 

TG: jfc shes great

CG: GET OUT OF HERE, YOU’RE SITTING NEXT TO ME AND HAVE NO REASON TO BE HERE.

CG banned TG from responding to memo.

GC: 4W 1 GU3SS 1’LL T4LK TO CH3RRY T3XT 4NOTH3R D4Y. BY3 K4RK4T!

gallowsCalibrator [GC] ceased responding to memo.

EB: wow that was interesting… i guess we’ll see you next month karkat, have fun with your new friend hehe :)

ectoBiologist [EB] ceased responding to memo.

GG: well i guess thats my cue to leave as well… karkat, i’m glad you found someone to be with. i’m also glad you got over john.

CG: SO AM I, JADE.

GG: youre gonna be happy with dave, i know it :)

gardenGnostic [GG] ceased responding to memo.

CG: YOU GUYS ARE

CG: ...

CG: YOU’RE THE BEST.

carcinoGeneticist [CG] closed memo.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I had so much fun formatting the pesterlogs" said no one ever!!! Sometimes I want to be a serious writer and bring on the angst and pain but I just can't, I live for the jokes.


	15. Impromptu Challenge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arriving at well-known Strider Clan territory, you don't know what your in for. You barely ever go to any Demon part of town because everyone usually knows you as the _vita interfector_ or "life killer" and honestly that is not a good conversation starter. You're prepared for everything... _Almost_ everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One day, I'll write a short chapter. Today is most certainty not the day.  
> Reminder that all the conversations Dave and Karkat have in their minds due to their bond are written in _italics_.

Your father doesn't react at all when you tell him you've decided to take over him. He congratulates you on taking charge of the situation and offers you his hand which you shake begrudgingly. It seems this turn of events was to be expected since everyone immediately starts asking _you_ what to do. It's like they didn't even question it. Gamzee says it's because your father had prepared for all of this. He spoke of the vision Lalonde had explained to him all those many years ago; how he would leave his family to create a new one so that one day his son may rise to power and lead them into war, the war which would set the power balance straight.  
You believed what Gamzee said as the truth, your father always did have a way to reach the masses.

On Monday, Rose calls Dave to tell him you are expected at the Strider clan household. He refuses at first claiming that you're now a hotshot general and need to tend to your troops, that you can't just get up and go without telling anyone. They snap at each other in their native language and in the end he smiles. He seems satisfied when he hangs up.

He visibly deflates when Aranea knocks at your door and tells you it's time for you to leave to meet the Striders, that she's had the meeting scheduled in your father's agenda for two months. Rose had this all planned out.

Dave trudges behind you as you both are escorted to a car and sent on your way.

He remains silent for most of the car ride, giving you clipped answers when you ask him about his clan or his kin-siblings. He seems tense. 

You take his hand into your own and give him a reassuring squeeze. 

"What are you afraid of?" You ask him when he starts tapping his foot impatiently.

"I'm not afraid," you quirk an eyebrow at him, "I'm not! I just, my bro Dirk, he's the clan leader and he can be a bit... Overbearing, judgmental and calculating. He's never been OK with the whole demon-hunter relations. Jake even told me it took a couple of years for him to interact with humans. It's like he just wants us to conserve the bloodline or something." He shakes his head in disbelief. 

"I used to think the same Dave," his face lifts to look at you or well, you think. Damn shades, "yeah pretty stupid coming from the guy who bound the first demon he slept with. I know why Dirk does what he does. We were both brought up in the same time periods were segregation of the species was natural, hunters avoided demons like the plague and demons attacked hunters at the mere sight. Having a friendship with demons was insane for us. When Kankri told me about his bond with Cronus I fucking lost it. I told him things I regret, Dave. I was a fucking dick with him." You sigh and he tips your head up.

"Things change." He smiles.

"Which is why you shouldn't get on you fucktwat of a brothers case. Maybe he's fine with it now." 

"Have you ever read one of those books that claim demon spawn from the elements? It's all a load of bullshit, we're all born in the demon world but we _are_ connected to the elements; Mine would be fire for example, Rose water and Dirk ground. Ground makes good for traditional, sturdy and tough demons. Protectors of the clan."

"Why are you telling me this, what does this have to do with that asshole?" 

"Dirk is like a fucking rock; unyielding and unbending." He leans his head on the headrest and sighs.

You feel the car stop and then a knock on the door before the driver opens your door. 

As you lean out, the cold flutters your bandana and messes your hair up even more. You walk out of the car and Dave follows suit with a grimace on his face. 

The building is like an apartment complex; brown faded paint and yellow windows frame its exterior.

"Charming, isn't it?" Dave grunts and takes your hand. 

"Mr. Vantas, I'll be back for you in two months. If you need to go somewhere please notify Miss Aranea and she will send you a driver." The driver tells you and you nod awkwardly.

"Ooo Mr. Vantas." Dave teases you and you snort. 

"Shut up, asswipe." You shove his shoulder as he laughs at you.

When you walk inside the building, several demons walk out to greet you in the traditional demon way. 

Your father brought you up as a diplomat first, warrior later so you respond kindly to their approaches. Dave on the other hand is treated with more friendly gestures; several pats on the back and fist bumps.

Spawn demons tug your coat and ask you about your tattoos, your weapons and your "shiny necklace." 

Once you walk through the lower levels and up the stairs you reach a wooden door with carvings that narrate a story.

"The top three floors are ours only. The first one is the training room, the floor above consists of the kitchen, living room, dining room and what was once the war room. You know, where the Clan made their battle strategies. The last floor is our living quarters and work areas. It's like a big penthouse, I guess." Dave says as you both stand outside the entrance looking at the door.

"It's big." You murmur.

"Not as big as you think. Just the appropriate amount of space." He reaches for the handle and it suddenly flings open revealing who you can only guess to be Rose. 

"Karkat, I'm glad you made it. You're looking rather chilled, come in." She gestures for you to step in and as you walk past her she stands in front of Dave to stop him, "Deivid." She purrs in the demon language.

"Rosevyn. So what, I don't get a hug or anything? Low blow sis, I thought we were tight.” 

“Oh, Dave. You know I don't have much care for emotional displays of affection towards my siblings. Besides, we aren't even that “tight” dear brother.” She smirks and he places a hand on his chest like if he's been offended.

“Rude much?” But he swoops down and pulls her into in an embrace making her laugh and pat his back.

“Come, Bro wants to talk. Karkat, this way please.” She pulls away from Dave and you nod as she leads you through the corridors.

You reach a black wooden door and she ushers you through. Inside, the room Dave described as a training room is organized quite like the training areas at the HQ; mats are stacked in a corner, there are training dummies pushed to the far side of the room. Several weapons are carefully placed on a shelve. There seems to be a ballet bar drilled into a wall and parallel bars are in the back as well. They seem to have it all.  
Standing in the room, severely kicking the ass of what looks like a life-size robot is a man with a white muscle shirt, orange sweats and pointy shades.

“Yo kid, I wanna see what your boys got.” He says without turning towards you or Dave.

“Bro come on we just got here, I'm tired. He's tired, we just want to take a snooze, man.” Dave whines and you turn to look at him with a confused expression. 

“What does he mean?” 

“He means he wants to smack your ass into the ground so he can take note of your skills.” Dave crosses his arms in annoyance.

“No one smacks my ass into the ground,” you pull your jacket off and hand it to Dave, “here dipshit, hold this.”

“Come on Karkat, don't give into his stupid requests. You don't _have_ to do this.” 

“Yes he does.” The man says as he continues to deliver punches to the robot.

“Yes I do.” You kick your boots off and pull your shirt over your head leaving you in your undershirt and black jeans. Good thing you brought the stretchy pair.

“God fucking… Karkat are you really gonna do this?” He groans as you kick your boots over to him.

“Fuck yeah. Come on pointy shades dude, let's do this shit.” You stretch your arms and back as a warm up and watch him pick up two wooden sticks.

“Brobot, terminate training sequence 52. Enter referee mode.” The metal machines eyes flicker from red to green and its stance changes into a much relaxed one.

“Entering referee mode. Select style.” 

“Hey kid, you familiar with kendo?” He asks you.

“Yeah, sure.” You shrug. You didn't like kendo that much but you were fairly good at it. At least if you lost it wouldn't be that bad.

“Alright, ya cool if I use my abilities?”

“Bro no, that's totally not fa-”

“I'm fine with it. I've battled demons with abilities before, I can handle it.” You cut Dave off and give him a “don't interfere” look to which he just grunts and sits next to Rose who's on a bench watching the whole exchange with a calculating smile.

“Grand. Brobot, style 12. Use of abilities, one round. No time limit.” The robot beeps once and stands in the middle of the designated rectangle.

Bro throws you the stick and you swing it around once to get the hang of a longer weapon. Your sickles were close ranged so you weren't accustomed to the use of longer weapons but you could make do. 

Porrim had taught you that every weapon must be an extension of a hunter, you can't be defenseless. You needed to use everything to your advantage. Anything could be a weapon given the right use.

“Starting point, sequence. Point match at four points. Commence!” 

He was quick. He was quick and motherfucking silent. He stepped into your space in less than three strides and you held out your stick up just in time. 

The fucker caught you off guard. 

You step out of his place and he shifts with you following your steps and making you meet him at every swing. He's going to corner you if you keep letting him advance so you push forward and instead of blocking blows you start trying to deliver them. Try being the keyword because he deflects them just as easy as he gives them.

You jump over him trying to he the upper hand but you're met with two shaded dudes instead of one when you hit the ground.

“What the fuck?” 

“Heart demon, bro.” He tells you. Fucking dammit. You panic for a second not letting it show on your face. 

_use the force luke_

You step back and change your stance into a protective stance. 

_Get out of my head, this is cheating._

One of the Bro's swings towards you and you block his attack but the other one smacks your side. 

“Point.” The robot raises a hand and you grunt. 

_come on dude, he said you could use your abilities so fucking use them_

You take faster strides towards both figures and move with calculated movements being careful not to leave any open spots. You lunge and fake a swing and as you connect with his shoulder the image flickers and fades. 

It was a fucking fake!

He smirks, swipes and-

“Point. Two to none.” The stupid machine says. You spin the stick in your hand and swing it in the air. 

_search for a life-line_

How can that help? You thought that maybe they'd be dead-forms, simple projections, so you searched for the one with a heartbeat, to single out the real Bro, using your blood abilities but it's proven useless because somehow, he's is giving them a heartbeat.

_Don't be so surprised, he's a heart demon. He can do that. Search for a life-line, a conscious mind. The projections have no memories._

You let your mind wander around the three Bro’s and slowly start to pick out the two fake Bro’s. They had no feelings, no memories, no connections. 

“Got you, asshole.” You move quickly, jumping over one of the projections, block the attack of another and land a blow onto Bro’s back.

“Point. Two to one.” Brobot says flashing his orange eyes.

Bro’s lip twitches as Dave chuckles and claps. Encouraging as it was, Bro seemed to find it bothersome. He bared his teeth and swung towards you, two more projections appeared at his side. Five assholes in shades and one lone hunter. 

Well that fucking sucks.

“We can call this off at any moment, hotshot.” He gives you an infuriating grin and you flip your weapon and move back into an offensive stance.

“As if, bulgefucker.” You let your mind touch all three Bro’s and single out the real one, far right.

You try to attack him straight away but the other four block your attack space and try to deflect your blows. Seems he's figured out your plan.

This is not going well for you; the projections hits aren't as hard but they still have some force behind them, it's taking you all you have not to crush under the weight of three sticks.

And then you feel the sting on your left shoulder.

“Goddamit!” It's clear he’s trying to rile you up because he snickers.

On the sidelines you can hear the rumble of Dave’s growl which delivers the message clearly: Don't hurt him.

Your eyes snap up to see his face and he's curling his lip in an almost snarl. 

“Sorry pretty boy, musta slipped.” 

“Fuck off, Strider.” 

“Point. Three to one.” The bot says.

“Shut up, you metal tin can.” You balance out your stick and Bro snickers again.

You're fucking done with his shit. It's bad enough he's in the lead, now he has the gall to taunt you!

“Argh, fuck this!” You run towards two of the projections, take a leap over them, block an attack from the other Bro and swipe the stick under the _real_ Bro making him fall flat on his ass and then giving him a light tap on the shoulder.

“Three to three. Pending draw. Next point, match point.” The bot says as you grin.

“What? No way, that was just one hit!” Bro tells the machine.

“Negative, two hits; slide swipe, shoulder touch." The machine says as it flashes it's eyes to red.

“No, no way. That was all one hit!”

“I'm sure the machine can see, dick breath. Although, if it gets you to stop whining i’ll let it count as one.” You shrug and he grunts.

“Fuck no, I'll let it count grey eyes. Come on, let's do this.”

You both go back to your respective corners. You watch as all his projection fade into an orange smoke and only one remains.

_Fuck._

_Now what? I kicked his ass with one, I can handle two_

_This one isn't the same. He taught Dirk this same little gimmick._

Sure enough, when you try to touch the projections mind you're met with a wall of memories and relations, an actual life line with both Bro's. You can't figure out who's the real one.

They both move and in quick movements side step into your personal boundaries in a blur. Their hits are synchronized and practiced; each hit from one is a block from the other one making you move backwards until the corner you. 

You spin out of their reach and manage to gain some ground but they're too quick and working too similarly.

You're losing stamina quickly, forced to deflect attack after attack. A rather harsh hit makes your hand sting and you almost lose hold of your weapon.

You are so fucking tired. You're gonna get your ass handed to you and it's going to hurt.

The blows you deflect make your shoulders quiver and your arm muscles clench. They were too fast! If only you could just… Slow them down.

_I got it. I'm going to try something that might be kinda stupid._

_Everything you do is stupid._

_Shut up, lemme concentrate_.

Your vision blurs and looks like rippling water. You feel a little less tired and a bit quicker. You're able to anticipate attacks, Both Bro's moves seem slower.

“What the fuck?” One of them has a puzzled expression and you use this to your advantage. You swipe at one if them from the left connecting with his shoulder and then swipe at the others side with full force.

“Agh, fuck!” He lands on the floor with a hard thud, his shades fall off and he bares his teeth at you.

Dave's behind you in a second and hisses at Bro.

“Chill the fuck off, dude. I wasn't planning to attack him.” Bro says as he rubs the spot where you connected the hit.

“Three to four. Match set. Winner: Vantas, Karkat. Training session completed. Initiating hibernation mode.” The robot's eyes flicker from orange to green.

“Yeah, yeah you hunk of junk, shut yer pie hole.” Bro lifts himself up from the floor and walks over to pick up a towel. He throws one your way and you catch it.

“Thanks.” You mutter and you dry your forehead. Guess you're gonna need a fucking bath. 

“You OK?” Dave whispers as he rubs your arms in a soothing manner.

“Yes asshole, I've had worse.” You roll your eyes but lean into him. He chuckles and hugs your waist.

“Yeah but you've never trained with mine kind, specifically Bro.” He continues to rub your shoulders and back.

“It was fine. Exhilarating even." You shrug and he runs his nose against the skin of your neck inhaling deeply.

“It was _hot_.” His voice says into your ear and you shiver.

“Jesus fuck, keep in yer pants, Deivyd.” Bro walks over to you and Dave huffs in annoyance.

“Boy, good strife. I was very entertained." Bro says making you roll your eyes.

"Dave, Karkat. Incredible work on your skill swap I cannot believe both of you have worked up to that.” Rose says at your side. When the fuck did she even get here?

“Swap who now?” Dave cocks his head to the side.

“What in the blistering fuck is a skill swap?” You throw your hands up in exasperation. Everyone keeps making this shit up you fucking swear.

“Hold on there, grey eyes. You and the kid formed a bond?” Bro asks you but looks over at Dave. You suddenly feel like you were both caught having sex on the couch or something.

“Uh… Yeah.” Dave shrugs as he rolls his sleeve up. Rose’s eyes go wide and she immediately starts taking notes of the patterns and forms on his arm.

“Well shit, ain't that nice?” Bro rolls his eyes.

“I'm sorry, is this an inconvenience for you? Are you some sort of discriminator or some shit I should know about so I can kick your ass _again_?” 

“Nah, pretty boy. It just explains why you were able to control time. Like Rosey said, skill swap.” 

“What the fuck is a- Rose stop poking at my arm! What the hell does a skill swap do?” Dave pulls his arm away from his sister and stands behind you. You chuckle at the siblings. 

“Funny, I thought you knew since you were the one who initiated the swap.” You both lift an eyebrow at her. “Fine alright, let me explain. The skill swap is an ability for bond mates. As you both probably know having a bond means that both implicated parties have new skills and abilities they can share between each other. 

“It is known that certain bonds might be stronger than others letting the bondies acquire incredible capacities. They become very in-sync with each other being able to share much of their skills and movements. Of course, this seems to be your case. Dave has been able to supply you with his time control while momentarily swapping out your blood ability. In the future, you both might be able to share abilities instead of only being able to switching them out.”

You're gape at her while Dave rubs at the back of his neck, trying to make heads or tails of what she said.

“I've never read anything about that.” You tell her and she nods.

“Of course you haven't. The hunters don't like to mingle with our kind anymore. Segregation of the kinds is what they live for. Why would they keep texts that have to do with what they are against, which would be the binding of our kind.” 

“Where did you read all of this?”

“The demon realm. Contrary to popular belief, we aren't actually against your kind. Simply against the segregation law.” She shrugs and Bro snorts at her side.

“Ain't that something’. So mind ya, ya’ll both sharing everything now, huh?” He wiggles his eyebrows making you sputter.

“Bro fuck off, leave him alone. These are some things he never learned.” 

“And you did?” You turn to look at Dave.

“Fuck yeah, we got schooled up in this part of town. Learned some shit.”

“So you never thought any of this was worth mentioning? That we can share abilities and strength besides sharing a fucking mind?” You clench your jaw and look away. 

“I wasn't sure it would work…” He murmurs.

“Well why the fuck not?”

“Because it only works when a demon has chosen a mate. A real mate. The one they will stay with forever. Not all demons find their life mate.” Rose looks at her sibling curiously. He's red in the face and looking everywhere but at you.

“So some type of soul mate shit. Like in the movies?” 

“Yes, non-platonically. Romantic partner. Soul mate in all the sense of the word. The partner who will share with you their mind, body and blood. Your bond might even be greater if you considered an _actual_ soul bonding.” 

“A soul bind? I've never heard of that, what the fuck does that even imply?” You can't believe how little you actually know of bindings.

“Well it entails the splitting of your soul to benefit both partners. Sharing everything in half; mind, blood, abilities, skills and of course a soul. It makes the bondies much stronger and very powerful magic wise. Since it's a combination of two minds against one, a soul bond makes the bondies immune to magic. So many benefits can come from sharing a soul.”

“Except we don't have a fucking soul so you’ll be splitting yours in half!” Dave growls and you all turn to look at him.

“Well kiddos, I've got to do… Other shit. Lil’ shits, pretty boy. See ya.” He nods at you and saunters out of the room.

“Dave, considering-”

“No, Rose. I'm not ‘considering’ fuck all.” He crosses his arms and she sighs.

“Dave a split soul isn't as horrid as you think it is. We’ve never even had souls, don't you think half of one could benefit you greatly?”

“It's not me I'm worried about.” He grunts.

Oh. He's worried about you. He doesn't want your soul to split. You aren’t sure if you’re touched or offended that he decided this on his own. What if you actually _want_ to share a soul with him?

“So what, I don’t get a goddamn say in this? I’m supposed to sit and stay quiet while you decide for us, you selfish asshole? I don’t care much for my soul to be honest, for all I care it can be chopped into tiny pieces and handed to every demon on earth.” You shrug and a snarl erupts from Dave’s mouth.

“You don’t know what you’re saying! Do you know what all of this implies or what you’ll have to go through just to gain a little fucking power and strength? Think about this, Karkat. You’re offering yourself up for some stupid magic tricks.” You’re frozen in place. Yes, you’ve had fights with Dave but in all your fights he’s never screamed at you. Not once.

“I’m not doing this for the power, how selfish do you think I am?” You mutter feeling like you just got scolded by Porrim.

“Then why the fuck are you doing this for?” He growls at you and you have to say, it kind of made you inch back.  
“Because… well shit, Dave. Because it would mean you have a soul. Something that makes you closer to me. Fuck I sound like one of my movies. Ugh fuck.”

“Figures you’d turn this into something romantic and mushy. I can’t catch a goddamn break can I?” He sighs and runs his hand through his hair.

“So we’re going through with it?” You can’t help but wince at the hope your voices entrails. Since when are you so excited to split your soul and doom yourself for eternity? When they said love fucked your decisions, they weren’t kidding.

“I never said that. Look, I know what you mean babe. If I was in your place I’d be saying the same thing. Now just try to look at it from my perspective.” He cups your cheek and smooths his thumb under your eye.

“Dave I really think-”

“Let’s talk about it later, yeah? I’m tired, I wanna catch up with my clan and introduce you.” He smiles and you sigh.

“Alright, Dave but if someone calls me the life killer again, I’m leaving.” You smirk but you make a mental note to ask him about the whole soul binding later. You know that when Dave says you’ll _talk about it later_ it means he’s going to avoid it like the plague. You can’t afford to avoid the situation, it’s important to you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm in love with the idea of people underestimating Karkat and he proves them so so wrong. Btw "bondies" is a way I'll be referring to partners in a bond. I wish I spoke latin so I could use them as terms...


	16. Staying in Stride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat knew his first meeting with Dirk Strider was not going to be a good one but he honestly didn't think it would be _this_ bad. So much for good first impressions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've given up on making up titles and just decided to let my girlfriend do that part.  
> Sort of short chapter which I'm not 100% content with. I feel like Dirk is OOC but you'll be the judge of that.
> 
> When any of the characters speak in another language it'll be represented by being in **bold**.

You don’t meet Dirk until the next morning and boy is it a disaster.

Dave had decided to skip dinner last night saying he was too tired to face his brother and kin mate. He had asked one of the people who worked for his clan to deliver some snacks. Apparently Dave’s clan was some sort of royalty among the demon clans so they got “special services.” Dave hated mentioning he was actual demon royalty, so you shrugged and ignored the fact your boyfriend was some big shit in the demon community.

When you woke up, you both walked around his room slipping on the first thing you pulled out of your luggages. 

“You’re wearing my boots.” Dave points at your feet with his toothbrush.

“Oh, fuck.” You lean down to pull them off and he shrugs.

“Don’t worry I’ll wear my converse.”

“You mean those ratty black things over there? Don’t be such a fucking cheapskate, buy new ones.”

“Fuck no, these are my babies. Lola and Lila have been with me through thick and thin, how dare you imply I should replace them?" He places a hand dramatically over shis chest making you roll your eyes but smile regardless, "You done? I wanna see what Bro cooked today.” He toes his old shoes on and ushers you out the door.

When you reach the kitchen, the only person there is, who you think is Dave’s brother, Dirk. He looks a lot like Bro and he’s even wearing those pointy shades. The only difference would be the lack of stubble on his chin and much smoother features.

“Deivyd. Nice to see you, I’m glad you refused to see me last night.” Dirk says to Dave but ends up looking at you.

“Sup. I didn’t _refuse_ to see you. I was tired. Meeting up with Bro is always a party, he just can't resist a good fight.” Dave shrugs and walks past him to go to the stove where there’s a pan filled with scrambled eggs and bacon. On the table in front of you there is a bowl full of chopped up fruit so you take a small plate from the stack on the counter and fill it with a serving of fruit pieces.

“You want some of this?” Dave looks over his shoulder and you nod. You sit down at the table in front of Dirk who seems to be reading some newspaper.

“So, Karkat Vantas. You’ve certainly caused an impact on my clan. Seems the people can’t stop talking about you.” Dirk says without raising his eyes from his paper. 

“Yeah, I wouldn’t know.” You murmur.

“Some people are very excited to have a hunter among us.”

“That’s nice I gu-”

“Others are not.” He cuts you off. He lifts his gaze from the newspaper and looks up at you, his orange eyes glow through his shades and you freeze.

“That really isn’t my problem.” You tell him pulling your hands into fists.

“On the contrary, I believe it is. See, when you decided to take up the leadership of the Cult you unintentionally agreed to make every demon problem your own. Your father was well respected here, but you? You’ve sent dozens of our kind into the Medium. You’ve tried to send me aswell. You can see why some of my people aren’t happy with your presence. You’re a disruption to our life.” He looks over his shades and you can see his orange eyes pierce your own grey ones.

“Alright asshole, we didn’t come here to break up your little paradise. We came because Rose said you wanted to make things right. _You_ said you wanted things to get better between us, remember? This isn’t exactly the warmest of welcomes.” Dave points at him with the wooden spoon he’s using to put food on your plates making his threat much less menacing.

“You’ve put us in a precarious position, Deivyd. The clan is questioning my decisions on allying ourselves with the life killer.” He turns towards Dave with a frown.

“You say it like I was looking for problems. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t go around searching for the things that will cause you the most problems, dude. Now leave Karkat out of this.” Dave growls and Dirk turns his head towards you, rolls his eyes and looks back at Dave who gives him a hard stare. Dirk clicks his tongue but nods.

**”Now if you could tell me kindly, what the fuck is your problem with him.”**

**”I don’t have a problem with him. I have a problem with the fact that _you_ being with him has caused so much fucking shit, I can’t even sit down without someone throwing a complaint in my face.”**

**”How is this my fucking fault? I didn’t choose this, dick. I can’t control my feelings. It’s not like this is all his fault either so don't blame it on him. You’ve fed the clan so many stupid ideas that now everything is blowing up in your face. He didn’t cause your problems.”**

**"This,"** he gestures over towards you, **"was a disaster ready to happen. If it wasn't with you I'm sure he would’ve fucked up someone else’s life but you were attracted to him because you just can't seem to stay clear from a mess. Any shitstorm waiting to happen around a ten mile radius is sure to find you."** The orange eyed demon spat and Dave turns his head to the side, jaw tense and fighting himself from jumping at Dirk's throat. He can't fight with the clan leader, it's against demon behavior.

But you can.

" _This_ has a fucking name asshole so I suggest you fucking learn to pronounce it sooner rather than later you fucking dipshit. I plan to stay with this fumbling mess for a long time so you have no other choice but to accept me. I'm the new leader of the goddamn Cult so it'd be wise of you to stop trying to break your clan apart and help me get a little respect around here..” You you stand from your chair and walk over to him. He’s taller than you but like hell that will fucking stop you from punching his face. “Oh and fuck you straight up in the asshole with a rusty knife because I am _not_ a disaster any more than you are a fucking composed civil demon. You're a goddamn wreck, Strider. You've got some nerve saying I'm the one with a problem when you've caused enough problems to land your ass in the Medium at least five times. If it wasn't for your little kin mate, you'd be stuck in there for all your miserable life so why don't you keep your trap shut and stop pinning shit that happened ten years ago on my back, huh?" 

They both stay silent and blink at you. Dave's mouth is hanging open and his brother looks like a dead fish.

"How did you know he was talking about you?" Dave whispers.

"I'm not fucking deaf Dave." You cross your arms and roll your eyes at him. Did he really think they were being subtle about it?

"You _understood_ us?" 

"Of course I did, what the hell? Did I magically forget to speak English or what the fuck?"

"Karkat, we weren't speaking English." He says with a serious tone. 

What.

"What."

"We weren't speaking English, we were speaking _sacrulingu_."

"Bullshit."

 **"You're a goddamn moron."** Dirk tells you.

"Look asshole you better shut your fucking mouth before I rip your lips up and shove them up your ass. You think I can't fucking take your ass? I'll beat your flat ass into next week, you goddamn slime sack!" Dave curls and arm around your waist as you try to reach for his ugly face.

"There. It's safe to say he understands sacrulingu. Also, that’s the most a person has ever used “ass” in a sentence." He crosses his arms and huffs.

You blink in confusion. Did he-

"Well shit man, that's awesome." 

“How is it awesome that your stupid sibling just insulted me? All of you are idiots.”

“No, not that. You can understand sacrulingu, dude. I didn't even know that was possible.” 

“I don't know sacrulingu, I didn't study that language shit in the academy I only studied healing… How the-”

“It's the bond. It's letting you understand each other in every way possible. It's getting stronger.”

“Does that mean Dave knows Spanish now?” You look over at Dave who looks like they just told him he was going to receive his Christmas present early.

“I suppose, try it out.” Dirk shrugs.

“ **You're an idiot with a huge ego and no mouth filter.** ” You tell him with a smirk.

“Aw, fuck you. So rude.” He pouts and you stare at him with wide eyes.

“There you go, you understand each other. Hooray.” Dirk deadpans. You turn and glare at him.

“What the fuck is your problem with me, Strider? I've never done anything to you or your stupid mate. If anyone should be pissed off, it should be me considering you've tried to kill me and my brother multiple times!” You jab a finger in his chest and he snarls.

“Don't you fucking touch me.”

“I'm not afraid of you, Strider. Go growl at someone who cares. The only reason I don't rip your head off your body is because Dave will be upset.” 

“I highly doubt it.” Dave murmurs.

“You're just mad right now, but I know you would be later on.” Dave grunts and turns his head to the side.

“I'd like to see you fucking tr-” You move swiftly to his side and place your sickle over his throat. He freezes in place and you look back to see Dave's hand reaching out.

“Don't test me asshole.” You tell Dirk who remains silent.

“Alright, alright, alright. That's enough excitement for one day!” A voice much like Dirk says at your side and you pull out another dagger at him.

“Who the hell are you?”

“Hal, great of you to join us.” Dirk sighs.

“ _Hal_? You have twin?” You flick the dagger towards Dirk and he shakes his head.

“That's very kind of you, grey-eyes but no, I'm his subconscious taken life. You ever have a nagging voice in your head telling you _not_ do something? That's basically me.”

“No, I always do what I think. I don't second guess myself.” You remove your sickle from Dirks throat and take a step back. “Hal” raises an eyebrow at Dave.

“Impulsive, isn't he?”

“You don't know the half of it, dude.”

“So what are you supposed to be exactly, a projection?”

“Clever and very much accurate. I'm HAL, Half-Mind Aware Lifeform. I'm Dirks better half.” He smiles and it looks strange seeing emotion on Dirk's face. Although, it's not exactly Dirk, is it? He puts his hand out and you grip his forearm in the demon greeting.

“Karkat Vantas. Nice to meet you.”

“Same, I'm sorry you had to deal with all this family bullshit but Dirk tries to run everything like a military base instead of an actual household so everything always ends up exploding in his face.” Hal smiles at Dirk who in turn, frowns and looks away.

“There is nothing wrong with wanting things to be done a certain way.” 

“Yeah, _your_ way.” Dave murmurs.

“Can you not?” Dirk snaps at him.

“Can _you_ not? We have a guest over and you should be more courteous. Oh, who am I kidding? You're a real party to be around.” Hal rolls his eyes. 

“I'm done with this shit, if somebody needs me I will be no where for any of you.” Dirk turns on his heel and walks out of the kitchen.

“Oh shit, that’s my ride. I’m sorry I can’t stick around, Karkat but my body bag is leaving and I can’t exactly hold my form when he’s so far.” He leans close to you and whispers: “Don’t let the princess know, but it makes him very weak. Takes a toll on his body. Don't tell him I said that, he’ll deny it.” He winks at you and vanishes with a crackle of purple lightning.

“What the fuck just happened?” You turn to look at Dave who’s plunged his head into the pan of bacon.

“Huh?”

“You’re gross.” You tell him as you reach for a piece of bacon with your fork.

“No, fuck off this is my bacon.” 

“Don’t be such a spawnling.” You poke his side and he shifts away but lets you take some bacon.

“So, Hal likes you.” He hums as you pour yourself a cup of coffee.

“Yeah but Dirk doesn’t.” 

“Dirk doesn’t like new things. You’re new so he doesn’t like you,” he shrugs, “he’ll warm up to you and so will the clan.”

“I feel like I keep fucking up, am I fucking up?” You cover your face with your hands and sigh. Dave is hovering over you in a second. His arms wrap around your waist and he places his chin on your shoulder. He kisses your temple and breathes in deeply.

“No, you’re doing fine. You’re still new to this whole “being in charge” shit. It’s gonna be fine, we’re going to be around here for a few weeks so you’ll have time to talk shit out and get to know our clan. We have time.” You lean your back on his shoulder and sigh.

“Do we, Dave? I feel like we’re losing time. This stupid war is getting closer and closer and our allies aren’t even sure they’ll stand with us anymore.” Dave nuzzles your neck and rubs your sides trying to get you to relax.

“We have time. I’m all about time, babe. I know how much time we have left. We’re doing good. Now let’s stop talking about this whole fighting in a goddamn war thing and eat.” He gives you a noisy kiss on the cheek, lets go of your waist and goes back to his place to scarf down another plate of eggs. No wonder there was so many pans on the stove.

You watch him eat while you try to think things through. Your meeting with Dirk didn’t go as plan but it wasn’t so awful. At least you didn’t punch him. Now _that_ would’ve been a disaster.

You wish you knew why he was so against your new ideals but that would imply actually knowing something about Dirk Strider and you don’t think he’s the type of guy who likes to share his life story.

Dave said he’ll warm up to you. You hope so or this whole alliance is going to dissolve quicker than Hal dissolved into that pink lighting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't really like making Dirk and Karkat have some sort of rift because I secretly believe they are good pals and Karkat helps Dirk out in his relationship probs but I had to do it for this fic because I want them to learn how to trust each other even if their from different races. 
> 
> Btw, the name of the demon language comes from the words "sacrum" which means sacred and "lingua" which means tongue or language. Or that's what I read.


	17. Life Pact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Two months after the arrival of Karkat and Dave into the known Strider Clan territory, things seem to be working out. Training sessions have been planned out, people have been met and pacified. The only thing that is concerning Karkat is the small nagging detail of the soul bind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going to apologize right now for having three POV's in one chapter. I usually keep it on one persons perspective because I know it can get confusing but this chapter, like the last one, wasn't coming out like I wanted so I just took three different things I had written and smashed them into one big chapter. Sorry guys, I promise the next chapters are written in a much better form because they've been prewritten since last month.
> 
> So, Dirk, Rose and Karkat's POV's.

"Come on, English! You aren't even trying anymore!" You watch as Jake sighs and just drops to the floor.

"What the fresh fuck, Jake." Karkat frowns at him as Jake groans on the floor.

"Yo Vantas, I'm pretty sure the term "fresh fuck" is of Strider property." You tell him. He turns towards you and glares.

"Gee, I'm sorry Strider. I'll make sure to get my PR people to deal with it." He flips you off and turns back to your kin-mate on the floor.

"I'm all about learning different combat styles but you're wearing my boy out, Vantas. He isn't going to have enough energy for later tonight when _I_ need him to give it his all." You say with a stoic expression.

Karkat whips his head towards you with a disgusted expression and Jake props up on his elbows and blushes.

"Strider I honestly don't think you had to disclose that information to Mr. Vantas." He stutters and you smirk.

" _Karkat,_ my name is Karkat! Mr. Vantas is literally my dad geko boy."

"I am not a boy, I am far older than you!" Jake says as he lifts himself off and dusts his slacks off. You smirk at the fact that he got offended by being called “boy” and not “geko.”

"Jake can you please just let me go one more round?"

"He will, I've used that phrase before." You smirk at both boys in the designated fighting area who are both equally shocked and embarrassed.

"OK that's it I'm leaving." Karkat throws his hands up and picks up his weapons.

"Was it something I said?" You deadpan.

"Dirk, that was so uncalled for." Jake shakes his head at you and frowns.

"Really? I thought it was normal to talk to our guests about our se-" A hand clamps your mouth shut.

"Dirk! Please let's just be civil with our conversation topics. Are you _trying_ to make him uncomfortable?"

"I'm not uncomfortable! I'm grossed out..." Karkat shivers.

"Oh, so if I say something suggestive _you're_ "grossed out" but when I have to hear you and my brother and "ooh, Dave harder harder!" I'm supposed to be fine with it?" You have the satisfaction of seeing Karkat change colors and shake with rage. You're pretty sure he's gonna blow a fuse.

"You revolting sack of donkey feces! I can't believe the amount of toxic waste shooting out of your mouth right now, I have never said that in my life you blasphemous lying dirt demon!" He points at you, his face red and clearly furious.

You want to throw yourself on the floor and laugh. Just roll around like a crazy person. But you're above that. Instead you just continue to hear him shout his lungs at you. You wonder how long he can last...

Suddenly, the door swings up and Dave swoops over to Karkat, frowning and looking preoccupied.

"What the hell happened, are you OK? I could feel... What did you do?" He turns to you and you shrug.

"Why must it always be me?" You answer innocently.

He growls at you as he tries to calm Karkat.

"Lessons over, shouty. I suggest you get some rest, tomorrow you're training with me."

"Looking forward to it, shades Mc douchelord." He picks up his weapons and hangs them on the weapons wall.

"They're very... Serious, aren't they?" Jake asks you as you both watch them walk out of the training room.

"Maybe too much."

"It was bound to happen, chum. Only a matter of time as Rose always says, am I right?" He walks over to your side and hugs your waist, resting his head on top of yours.

"It can't be avoided, your right." You lean you head on his chest and sigh.

"He's not all that bad, Dirk. He's very caring once you get to know him. Noble, even. He makes a good leader. Honestly I don't know why you dislike him so much."

"I don't dislike _him_. I just don't trust him or any hunter for that matter. They're called slayers for a reason, Jake. Just because they've been acting quite civil these past years doesn't make me automatically trust them. Those old ones, they broke the accords but no one says shit! My father he-"

"Dirk I know, love. I know what they're doing. You're father, my clan. I know what we've lost Dirk. But he is not like that. He will not hurt any more of our kind. " he rubs your back soothingly and you relax into his embrace.

"I don't want anymore deaths, Jake."

"Learn to trust, love. It'll do wonders for your health." He kisses you and you smirk at him.

He's right but you're just not sure you can.

________________________________________________________________________________________

You're sipping tea while watching Bro is drink what seems to be a sports drink in a flask. You won't even ask why he's drinking it in a flask because you know the answer will be revolving around some "ironic shennanagins."

"Lovely to know our guest has met our family and been welcomed like one of us, isn't it?" You ask Bro and he nods.

"Isn't it great that he's already met all our clan members and knows them all by name? It took almost two months for them to warm up to him but I think he's made an impressive amount of progress in these two months, wouldn't you say so?"

"Yup."

"Don't you think it's time to ask them about their bond?"

"Nope." He pops the p loudly and you frown.

"Bronder-"

"Nonono, what time is it?" He points at the clock hanging on the wall behind you and you sigh.

"Nine forty." 

"Yeah, nine forty which means _Bronder_ ain't workin' as of right now. So Rosey, just Bro."

"Dear demon lords, give me strength. Fine, _Bro_ I think we should ask Dave about his bond with Karkat." He nods and chugs down from his flask.

"Nah, _we_ shouldn't do a thing. But _you're_ gonna go ahead and do it anyway, huh?"

"Well, yes." No point in denying it.

"Just let 'em work it out. We don't even know where this is goin'."

You hum and tap your sharp nails on the tile. He's right, you can't exactly pressure them into the bond. You aren't even sure at what stage they are in their relationship.

As you contemplate your options, Dave and Karkat stumble into the kitchen laughing. Dave's shades are off and he's... Not in human form.

He's never without his glasses and he never goes about in his demon body unless it's necessary.

"Karkat, Deivyd." You greet them and they both stop laughing instantly. Dave shifts back into his human form and you quirk an eyebrow.

"Sup Rose. Bro, how goes it?" He clears his throat and Karkat looks away. You don't miss his blush.

"Sup lil' man. You gonna be strutin' in your birthday suit from now on? I ain't seen you in your demon form in years. What's up with that?"

"Yes, Dave. What is up with that indeed?" You smile at him and he rolls his eyes.

"Dave, your shades." Karkat hands Dave his shades and your brother smiles at him.

_Smiled._ JHis face actually expressed a feeling of contentment.

"Soooo... what's up with your bond? Ya gonna do the soul thing?" Bro asks bluntly and you facepalm.

"Smooth. What happened to "let them work it out"? And people say I'm direct."

"Gee Bro, lemme see... Oh right, it's none of your business." Dave pulls out a carton of apple juice. Behind him, Karkat is frowning.

"I sense a shift in the mood. So you kiddies ain't seein' eye to eye with this."

"Not. Your. Business." Dave grits out.

"On the contrary, I think it does involve them." Karkat tells him with a stern voice.

"Karkat, we talked about this." They both stare at each other without saying a word. It takes you a few seconds to understand they're talking in their minds. More like fighting from the way Dave growls.

"Ya know, if y'all are gonna be fightin' in front of us might as well do it out loud 'cause this is just goddamn borin'." Bro sighs.

"Are you drinking at ten in the morning?" Karkat asks him with confusion, eyeing his flask.

"I'll have you know it's still nine."

"Karkat, Dave. If you are having trouble reaching an agreement might I suggest my assistance to mediate between both of you?"

"How about you mediate between Dave and his selfish prick of an ego!" Karkat slams his cup on the table and storms out.

"Good job, Dave. Makin' the fam proud." Bro gives him a thumbs up.

"Fuck off. Both of you, just fucking fuck off. This is all your fault, why can't you just mind your own goddamn business?" He starts to walk out of the kitchen in a different direction but you stop him by pulling at his wrist with one of your tendrils.

"You're going the wrong way, brother."

"Get your tentacles off me, Rose." He grunts making you roll your eyes.

"Go fix this, Dave. And try talking, like civil people."

Dave stands in the doorway mulling over his options. He sighs in exasperation but decides to follow Karkat anyway.

"Kid, does he always do what he sets his mind on?" Bro asks before Dave crosses the doorway.

"Yeah," he sighs and runs a hand through his hair, "I know what you're trying to say."

"Then why ya tryin' to resist?"

"Cause I don't want to ruin his life." He leaves and you're left with Bro in the kitchen.

"They'll be fine." Bro shrugs.

"I know. We must start making preparations." You say after a beat.

"For what?"

"The ceremony. I have seen it happen."

_________________________________________________________________________________

"Karkat. Karkat come on we need to talk about this." You can hear Dave's voice behind you but you keep walking up the flight of stairs.

“Where are you even going? I’m not even sure there’s a way to reach the rooftop, no one ever goes out there.” He says but you blatantly ignore him.

Once you reach the door to the roof you notice it looks old and the paint on it it chipping. Guess he was right, no one comes up here. You push hoping it’ll budge and hum contently when It creaks but budges open anyway.

Well isn’t Dave a goddamn liar? 

The roof seems to function as someone's greenhouse; the place is filled with pots and flowers, vines crawl along the walls and there are plants hanging from the canopy. You walk slowly through the pots and buckets to the area that isn't covered by the small canopy. You lean on metal railing surrounding the roof and look over the buildings and houses.

“Shit man, I didn’t even know this place was here. This shit must belong to English, there’s no way Rose or Dirk would be caught tending to these goddamn plants.” You hear the door close with a small creak but don’t turn to address him.

“Look Karkat, I know this shit is a big deal for you and I’ve been dismissing the topic but it’s only because I don’t think it matters.”

“It doesn’t _matter_. You think it doesn’t matter?” You close your eyes and take a deep breath. You don’t want this to turn into another fight.

“No dude, I just think this is some shitty way my sister and Kanaya planned up to make us the ultimate weapon. I’m not gonna risk my shit just to be used as a pawn in the war.” You whip around to look glare at him.

“You’re afraid to get hurt? What the fuck is going to happen to you, it’s not like _you’re_ the one who’s going to lose what's left of their humanity! _I’m_ making the big sacrifice, Dave. You’re just gonna stand there nicely, reach out and rip my soul up. I’m so sorry, it must be so terrible to get some humanity in your system!” You ball your fists and watch as he clenches his jaw.

“Do you not understand what I’m doing for you? I’m offering to burn my humanity in order to protect you, to make us stronger!”

“I don’t want to be fucking stronger if that means I’m going to condemn you!”

“News flash, asshole. Hunters have demon blood, we’re already condemned! You’re lying, I know that’s not the real reason you don’t want to do this. If this is because you don’t feel so strongly about me to go through with this then just say it, Dave but don’t lie to me. I can _feel_ your lies you goddamn moron.”

He stays silent and looks away. You sigh. You knew that was the real reason. You hadn't wanted to accept it but it was plainly obvious. You’re not actually a demon so he might not want to have you as a life partner. What were you even thinking? You were practically pressuring him into spending the rest of his life with you without even knowing if he wanted any of this. You’re the moron, not him.

“Stop it. I know what you’re thinking. I can see yourself waddling in your shitty thoughts of self hate and doubt.” He sighs and runs his hand through his hair, a gesture you’ve come to associate when Dave is stressed out.

“Dave, if you’re going to tell me-”

“Karkat, shut up. Just let me… Let me try to say this without fucking up.” He huffs and you snap your mouth shut. The sound of your heart beating echos in your ears. You were nervous, you didn’t want to lose him but maybe you had pushed him away with your constant nagging about the subject. You had been fighting about this since you arrived here two months ago. Two months of fighting, making up, fighting again. It gets annoying. _You_ get annoying. 

“Karkat, I don’t want to hurt you. Do you know how the process of soul binding goes? Sure, you know about the nice fancy ceremony where you exchange clan crests and leader rings but do you know why the rest of the ceremony is done in closed quarters with only your clan leaders and an elder demon in the room? Because one of the partners needs to poison the other with their venom. You know how humans become hunters, they are poisoned by a demon and if they’re lucky and find a class five magic wielder, they’ll be able to create a sort of anti-venom to help the live through the poison.”

“You also know what happens if they don’t get the help they need. They either turn into rogue demons or die. Now imagine having to go through the painful process of turning into a demon but this time, no one can help you through the pain. If your partner overdoes the poison, you will die. It’s happened before and I’m not letting that happen to you! I’m not losing you over a fucking power upgrade for some shitty war!” His voice quivers at the last part and you know he’s crying. 

You move closer to him and tentatively reach a hand towards his shades. He hisses but doesn’t make a move to stop you as you pull them off. You were right, he _is_ crying. His red eyes have lost their glow and look tired. You rub your thumb on his cheek and kiss him lightly.

“Dave, I’m not doing this for the war or for me to become stronger. I’m doing this to protect us. It will protect us against magic and mind tricks which usually leave a person vulnerable. We’re going to be in this war whether we want to or not and I will do everything I can to protect you.”

“So will I! So I won’t do this! I won’t put your life at risk.” He holds your face in his hands and presses your foreheads together. “I’m not killing you.” he whispers.

“We _need_ to do this. You won’t kill me. Kanaya and Rose will be there. We’ll get your friend Rufioh’s father to assist you. I trust you won’t kill me. I know you don’t trust yourself but you trust me, right?” You tell him. He’s stopped crying. He nuzzles your neck hugs your waist tightly.

“Will all my shitastic heart.” 

“You trust me and I trust you so by this goddamn reach around, you trust yourself. You got it?” You can feel him smile against your neck.

“Smartass.”

“I’m still right.” You kiss his temple and raise his face to your own. “Please, just agree to this. It’s the only way I’ll know you're safe.” He stares at you as he moves his fingers up and down your spine. He frowns for a moment and then sighs.

“I’m not doing this because you gave me a good reason. I’m doing this because I’ve laid out a plot in my head and the best way to keep you safe during whatever fight you get into. This will keep your mind protected. So congratua-fucking-lations, Karkat. You get to have your veins burned by demon poison.” You roll your eyes at his dramatic phrasing.

“I know you’re mad and you’ve agreed begrudgingly but I’m happy with this outcome.” You say with a smirk making him frown even more.

“I hope you’ll be this fucking cheery when your humanity dies.” He growls and you kiss him with enough passion to make him understand you’d impale yourself in the fucking ass if it helped in his protection.

“The was the gayest and kinkiest shit you have ever thought about.” He says when you pull away.

“Fuck off, Strider.” You pull him into a hug and he chuckles.

“So who’s gonna tell Rose she was right?”

Fuck. Might as well drink the poison now than suffer through her smug ‘I told you so’ look.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for the comments and kudos y'all have been leaving, they really motivate me to keep this going and trying my best to make these chapters decent!!


	18. A Different Kind of Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When you agreed to this whole binding ceremony you honestly thought there would be something... different. Not that following old boring traditions and getting bound to your partner for al eternity isn't great and all, but you just wanted something _more_. You always thought that ceremonies this important involved some sort of festive element, sort of like your human romcoms and novels...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Please don't add a cliche element into this story, it'll make it bad" _**how bout i do anway**_
> 
> I literally have no excuse, I just love these tropes so much. Forgive me. Kudos again to my girlfriend for helping me name these chapters!!
> 
> (Karkat and Dave POV's)

You feel sick to your stomach as Kanaya adjusts the flaps on the coat. She murmurs to herself while she straightens your arm and folds it then makes some little notes on her notepad.   
You’re going to pass out.

“Kanaya, stop. I’m going to fuck puke my breakfast.” You push her aside and wobble your way to a chair. 

“You look so pale, are you becoming ill Karkat?” She walks over to your side and lays a cool hand on your forehead.

“No, I’m not. I just felt dizzy.”

“Are you having second thought about this Karkat, hmm?” Roxy leans over your side and drapes herself over your lap.

“What, no! Get the fuck off me. I just, it’s too fucking hot in here how do you expect me to not pass out under all this fucking clothes. Is all of this really necessary?” You turn to Kanaya gesturing the outfit and she nods.

“It’s the traditional garment for these type of ceremonies. The Strider clan insisted on keeping it as traditional as possible. The Cult members agreed it should be done as it had been done in the past. Is there something wrong, Karkat? Do you need to speak to me in private?” She turns to fix your collar and the armor piece over your chest.

“What? No. I just wanted to know if having this goddamn circus of a ceremony in these times is the smartest idea.” You turn your head to the side and shrug. 

If you’re being honest with yourself, you will say you are very nervous. You’re going to bond your soul with a demon, literally split it in half to protect Dave. It’s like getting human married only ten times more important and one hundred times more dangerous. What if Dave is still having second thoughts? 

Scratch that, this is exactly like human marriages. 

“Karkat now I need you to stand up, Roxy could you please?” Kanaya shoos Roxy off your lap and pulls you up check the belts around your waist and over your chest.

“Why does this suit have so many pieces!” You grunt.

“Because this was the traditional hunters outfit, this one is specifically the one for your family lineage.” 

“Geeth, KK all you’ve been doing ith whining and complaining, juth let KN work!” Sollux says as he comes out of the bathroom holding a portable game system.

“Oh em gee, Sollux. Were you _actually_ in the bathroom playing Pokemon? You are too intense with the games. ‘Sides, Karkat is nervous about his eloping so let him be a bridezilla all he wants, we can take it.”

“Roxy this is not a marriage, this is a soul binding. It has nothing to do with fancy gowns, over-the-top decorations and an expensive cake, that by the way, no one will like. This isn’t going to have dancing or kissing nor any of that shit I saw on 27 dresses or Bride Wars, it’s going to be a boring and old styled ceremony where people will sit and look while we attempt to not snooze into next week when the elders speak!” You yell at them and fall to silence. All three of them are looking at you with shocked expressions. 

“Why the fuck are you dipshits looking at me like that for?” 

“Karkat, dear… Do you _want_ this to be a big ceremony?” Kanaya touches your cheek and you shrug.

“Do I want something like this to be a big important event, yes. Did I think my exchange of family crests would be something much more exciting, also yes. This is just… a big deal isn’t it? For my family and for Dave’s? They want to keep it simple like the old times so I’ll complete my duty and work through this.” You walk over to the window and look out, watching people move around the place left and right.

“Yeah, KK but thith ith your wedding. Or the clothet thing you’ll ever have and I know how obethethed you were with weddingth when we were younger. You’re entitled to make thith thome big fanthathy thit if you want to.” Sollux pats your back and smiles.

“Kaaaarkat, do you want to marry Davey?” Roxy wiggles her eyebrows at you so you roll your eyes at her.

“I never said “marry”, Lalonde. I want to…” 

“Karkat, you want to marry Dave.” Kanaya says for you.

“I do not!” You grunt.

“KK, yeth you do. You’re practically athking for it. Why don’t you juth talk to DV about it? Human marriage ithn’t that bad. At leath you’ll have a nice meal and get to invite people you know.” Sollux offers. 

“Oh and it’s a custom to get presents for human weddings! You could totally mash it up, hunter slash demon bonding ceremony meets fairy-tale princess wedding!” Roxy claps her hands and hops in her place.

“All of you have lost your shit. You are completely fucked in the mind. How the fuck could you even suggest for me to go against tradition and honor just to please my stupid little fantasy? This is why my father always picked Kankri to be the one to lead things. He doesn’t have to fuck anything up because I’m the one who always fucks it up for him. I’m sure if Kankri was here he’d be saying how disappointed he is and how I’m letting our family down.”

“I would say no such thing, Karkat.” Kankri is in the room leaning on the door frame with his arms crossed over a neatly pressed dark red shirt and looking pissed as fuck.

“Speak of the devil.” You press your forehead against the cool glass and groan.

“Oh please, you wouldn’t even know him.” Kankri remarks and you turn to glare at him. 

“Ohhh shit, brotherly insult battle is about to start. Shit’s gonna go down!” Roxy laughs.

“I’m sorry. That was rude of me. Karkat I overheard your conversation, I’m sorry for eavesdropping, but I can’t help and think you are having a resent towards the whole ceremony fiasco.” He walks over to you side and you move away from his touch.

“Bullshit, you didn’t hear anything.” You mutter.

“I think you should do it. If this grand ceremony with old people and old rituals isn’t your cup of tea, well just do as you wish. Karkat, you’re binding your soul to another person, as if losing your remaining humanity wasn’t enough, you’re forcing yourself to be content with a whole event that isn’t of your liking. It’s foolish, I think you should do as you wish.” 

You gape at him as he shrugs. 

“Who the fuck are you and what did you do with “always politically correct” Kankri?” 

“Now, then. I am not always trying to do the political correct thing. I am pretty sure my binding with Cronus was not seen as correct. Surely if I took the time to mull over these things and came to the conclusion that the most important thing is your happiness, father will be convinced into letting you handle it your own way as well.”

“See this is where you’re wrong. Father won’t accept it. He and the other Cult members agreed this event was for the best.” You mutter.

“Yeah, KK but in the end, you’re the Cult leader. You get to chooth.”

“Hells yes, if you want to make this a big wedding bash, you go ahead and do it!” Roxy pumps her fist in the air.

“I agree, if you aren’t satisfied with the way things are being handled I suggest you plan them in your own way. Traditions are made at some point in time, this can be a new tradition starting from now on.”

You know they’re right. For fucks sake, even Kankri agrees. You clip off the belts around your waist and hand them to Kanaya.

“What are you doing?” She asks as you lace the boots of the outfit up.

“I’m gonna go tell Dave.”

“Oh yes, operation ‘marry the Kat’ is on.” Roxy claps her hands together..

“I guess I’ll scratch these outfits…”Kanaya says as she organizes her sketches into a neat pile. “Porrim might need a bit of convincing for this whole change but I think I can manage-”

“No, don’t change the outfits. They’re fine, I just want to change the ceremony.” You tell her as you walk out the door. Before you leave you can hear Kankri say he is leaving to inform your father of your decision. You’re glad he’s taking one for the team.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Now Deivyd, please move this way I’m not sure I like how this part looks.” She tugs at the cloth around your waist and you sigh for the tenth time in an hour.

“Miss Maryam, it’s _Dave_. Why do you insist on calling me by my demon name?” 

“Why do you insist on calling me Miss Maryam?” She mutters as she makes you turn around. She places a stool behind you and climbs on it to fix something on your back. 

“Touche. So, Porrim. Is all of this shit necessary?” 

“Course it is. It’s a tradition.” Dirk says.

“Yeah… everything about this is _so_ traditional.” She mutters as she adjusts the fabric over your back.

“Why the fuck can’t I have sleeves?” 

“Because we need to see your buff arms, Dave!” Terezi cackles from her chair and Dirk grunts.

“Why is the hunter even here?” Dirk nods in Terezi’s direction. She lifts a hand and waves.

“Because she’s my friend. I would’ve invited Gamzee but the dude has some art exposition today. Rufioh can’t come for obvious reasons and I sure as fuck wasn’t going to tell Rose to be here.” 

“Besides, me and the cool kid are like, super tight.” She mocks and you let out a laugh.

“She’s a blast.” You shrug as Dirk growls.

“Mr. Strider, I will be by next week to make last arrangements to your outfit. Terezi dear, I already have your measurements I’d just like to confirm the color.” Porrim says as she turns you around. “Dave, you have a very complicated figure; broad shoulders but otherwise thin, lanky limbs but with some muscle definition. Whereas Dirk is just thin, tall and defined. Jake is even bigger and much more muscled than both of you. What about Brodder?”

“He's like a tall haystack, just big and bulky. Try picturing me and Dirk as one person.” You tell her as she throws you a pair of boots.

“Odds are your Bro is a giant.” Terezi says as she flips through a magazine with different fabrics and colors taking a sniff of each page. “I found it Porrim, I found the perfect color!” 

“Dear, that is a plain red fabric.”

“Yes I know!” 

“I’ll see what I can do. I'm done, Dave. Please don't use the weapons, they're for display only. Pretty cheap swords if you ask me.” She adjusts the weapons belt over your waist and turns you towards the body length mirror.

“I have crotch pants.” You deadpan making Terezi crack up.

“Shut it, kid. Those are traditional, your father-”

Three quick knocks interrupt his great speech about your ancestors. Thank fuck.

“Karkat, what are you doing here? Did Kanaya let you run away from her again?” Porrim sighs.

“I need to speak to Dave.” He looks around the room, his gaze settles on Dirk and he frowns. “In private.”

“Yo what up, baby?” You say as you walk towards him.

“Don't call me baby.”

“Yo what up, sugar?” You try again.

“Dave, please stop.”

“Sweetie pie? Nah, too lame. Cherry pop? Nah, already popped that cherry-”

“Dave shut up! Come on, I need to ask you something.” He doesn’t wait for you to answer, he grabs your arm and pulls you outside. You hear Porrim shout “Be careful with my outfit!” Before he shuts the door behind you.

“Look if this is about Kankri going to see you, I’m sorry but he was talking so much I just _had_ to send him over to you. I swear on the demons lord, he was going to make Dirk rip his throat open. I was just trying to save my bro from a trip to the medium. I’m sure Porrim even wanted him out of here and she _loves_ the guy. Ya know, I don’t really get how-”

“DAVE.” His arms are crossed over his chest and wow. You actually take in the sight of him in his suit. It’s not actually a suit, it’s more like hunting gear but really pimped out. He looks nice even though it’s not finished.

“You look grot, I mean hot or did I mean great? Who the fuck knows, it’s a mystery.” 

“Oh, I um yes. You look nice as well.” He blushes and looks to the side.

“I know, I looking fucking great. These sleeveless shirts make me looked ripped.” You flex your arms and Karkat presses his mouth into a thin line.

“If you’re done admiring yourself like my brother’s asshole boyfriend does, I’d like to discuss something with you.” He fidgets with his coat and bites his lip nervously. 

“Yeah babe, sure what’s going on?” 

“I think that, just try to keep an open mind OK? I know you guys are all about tradition and whatever bullshit thing your ancestors did. I’ve heard Dirk spout nonsense about keeping things how they should be, he says it all the goddamn time so I assume this must be all some big fancy rumpus but I… I don’t want to do this, Dave.” He says the last part in a small voice.

You raise an eyebrow questioningly. What doesn’t he want to do exactly, the ceremony or the whole soul bond thing? 

“The latter.” He murmurs reading your thoughts.

“Oh, well I guess if you don’t want to then I’ll just try to tell Dirk. I don’t want you to be forced into doing something you don’t want to, Karkat. I know this shit seems like some important event but if it makes you uncomfortable we won’t.” 

“No Dave, it’s not that. You know how I always watch all of those romcoms or read romance novels?” Oh fuck. You know where this is going. You had assumed he’d want to do something like this but when he agreed to participate in the ceremony you were surprised he didn’t ask for this human culture tradition thing.

Good thing you know your boyfriend pretty well. OK, Kanaya and Kankri actually tipped you on this but well, seeing that he was so happy you didn’t want to burst his bubble so you never brought it up. Great planning future Dave, you da real MVP.

“Look Karkat, this might be some big shit to you. I know how you have these big expectations on how things _should_ be going. You probably expect some huge fucking romantic gesture filled with all those romance tropes like in all your movies,” He looks down to his hands embarrassed and you sigh, “I know this ain’t exactly your fantasy proposal but fuck dude, you catch a dude unprepared.” You pull out the ring you’ve been carrying in your pocket for a few weeks and watch as Karkat’s face shifts from embarrassment to befuddlement.

“Dave, you goddamn cornchip, what are you doing?” He sounds giddy.

You crouch down on one knee like you’ve seen the humans do and clear your throat.

“Karkat.”

“Oh my fucking god.” 

“Shut up, asshole. Lemme be romantic.”

“OH GOD.”

“Karkat shut up. Ehem, fuck how was this done again? OK screw it, here goes: 

“Dude I love you, you’re gonna slice your soul to make our bond stronger. I hope that shit makes us last longer. I’m sorry my family is sometimes really shit, at least you know they’re legit. Gonna try to propose in the least shitty way, but I guess all of this is actually really gay. Oh fuck it, so what do you say?” You show him the black silver ring with the one ruby that was your father's, or so Bro told you.

“That’s a clan ring.” He points at it and looks at you.

“Uh yeah… My dad’s actually. He was the clan leader of some dudes in the demon realm before he died. Since he died, it's technically mine now but I want you to have it because it symbolizes union of clans when demons exchange rings. I mean, I know you’re not a demon but this seemed significant… Look, I can get you a normal ring if you want. I’ll ask some human what’s appropriate.”

“No.” He says and your stomach falls. Fuck you assumed this would be OK, shit maybe this isn’t what he even wanted. Goddamit.

“Yeah OK, it’s kinda creepy I know. I’m sorry did I-”

“Get off the floor, you dipshit. I meant no as in: ‘no I don’t want another ring’. Fuck Dave, you proposed in shitty rhyme form but I wouldn't expect anything different from you.” He smiles as you lift yourself to your feet and he wraps his arms around your waist.

“Is that a yes?” You say as you kiss the top of his head.

“Yes, duh. I thought that was obvious.” He looks up at you with the biggest smile you’ve ever seen on him. He looks beautiful. 

You smile back at him and slip the black ring on his left hand and rub his knuckles softly with your thumb. 

You lean down to whisper in his ear: “We’re doing this man.”

“I fucking hate you.” He smacks your arm quite forcefully. It was worth it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So ta-da. I'm sorry I made this into a wedding. Who am I kidding, no I'm not. I love weddings. Weddings are fun and dangerous! You never know what can happen at a wedding (:


	19. Story time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dirk still doesn't understand how most of his closest clan members can talk and even develop friendships with the demon slayers; His brother _marrying_ one, his sister _dating_ one and even his kin-mate is exchanging recipes with another! Maybe it's just the fact that he refuses to even acknowledge their presence unless he absolutely has to...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all I'd like to say I am very sorry for taking so long to update but I needed to take time off to study for finals at school. I took this month off to concentrate on my studies so I paused everything, including this fic. I have some chapters already but I didn't want to put them up because I wouldn't be writing new ones until later and I didn't want to be pressured into writing chapters in one week. I usually write long chapters and those take me some time. So, apologies for the late uploads!
> 
> Normal uploads starting up again because school is finally over!

“Are all demon clan rings so… goth?” The Terezi girl asks you when you tell them Dave gave Karkat his demon clan ring.

She and Porrim, the head of the hunters institute and your future sister-in-law slash make-shift mom to the groom, had both come out to meet you, Jake and Bro to fix the final details of your suits.

“If you are referring to the fact that Dave’s ring is red and black than no. Mine is silver and orange. Jake’s mother’s had been green and silver. It’s mostly due to the nature of our kind. The band is either silver or black; depending if the demon is a realm demon or a duo realm demon. Duo realm means they can live in demon realm and the earth realm.”

“I know that orange pop, I’m a hunter. I studied this. So is Dave’s dad a realm demon?” She asks you as Porrim takes your arm measurements.

“Yes. He _was_ one.”

“He’s dead?” She sits up and looks at you curiously. You really shouldn’t be talking about this.

“Yes, he died in the first uprising. He had Dave and Rose, both from different demon mother's, though. But he spawned them at the same time so they’re twin-kin. Rose’s mom is still alive but she doesn’t contact us much. She turned out to be a succubus so she’s really… busy.” 

“Oh snap. So you and Dave are half brothers, right? How does that work?” Curious little hunter. You sigh as Porrim spins you around.

“Bro er- _Bronder_ is actually my father. Dave’s dad and he were… together. So we’re half brothers. I’m sure it works the same as a human or a hunter's family so please don’t ask me to get into that.” 

“Hehehe fine. My mom was a human turned demon. Although she kinda got screwed up in the process.” 

“Terezi, do not be rude to the memory of Redglare.” Porrim reprimands the girl and you lift an eyebrow at her.

“Redglare, the Dracon demon slayer?” You ask Porrim and she nods.

“Dracon demons are very volatile. She specialized in hunting those especially. The demon that poisoned her blood was also a Dracon demon.”

“Dracon demons aren’t well known for converting humans into hunters. Their poison is too strong and dulls the senses.” Terezi hums in agreement.

“Yep, it dulled her senses alright. Made her completely blind. She got something good out of it, she could sniff out the Dracon with keen precision. I was also born blind. The Dracon poison also burned through me. But I got a mind ability unlike my mom. It comes in handy.” She smiles widely and you nod.

“What about you, then. Are you also a Dracon slayer?” You ask her and she shrugs.

“Only when Karkat gives me orders to hunt one.”

“I’m done, Dirk. You can put your regular clothes back on.”

“Thank you. When do you think they'll be finished with the final arrangements?” You feature at the door.

“Probably as soon as Karkat stops taking Dave’s outrages suggestions so serious. As if Dave actually wants to get married in pink suits.” Terezi laughs but cuts herself off when Porrim gives her a stern look.

“You don't seem quite concerned over the fact that Karkat decided to change the traditional ceremony.” She says as she gathers up her materials.

“Dave figured he was going to want to change shit up. It was only a matter of time before he sprung it on him. Dave says he tends to _shout_ his thoughts rather than keep them concealed. We discussed this issue ages ago.” You say as you pull your shirt on.

“You mean _we_ discussed this issue. You were merely a bystander.” Hal says from behind you.

“Who is this?” Porrim asks with a calm tone. Next to her, Terezi is gaping.

“Hal. My splinter. I have heart abilities.” You say as Hal shakes Porrim’s hand.

“I suspected as much. Terezi be polite and say hi.”

“Aren't heart splinters supposed to be brain copies?”

“Not at all, I'm more like Dirks better half. Completely aware and functioning. Takes us as twin siblings.” He smiles at Terezi who also shakes his hand.

“Karkat really fell into a powerful family.” Porrim says as she surveys Hal.

“Of course, clans don't get the title of the strongest clan in the eastern part of the world by just being plain old demons, now do they?” 

“Hal stop boasting.” You groan.

“Very well, Dirk.” He winks at you and you sigh.

You can’t catch a break today.

“So lizard lad told me your clan is new, what's up with that?” Terezi asks as you come out of the bathroom.

“Why are you still here? I thought you came to escort Porrim.” 

“I did buuuut… I got bored. So come on, what's up with your clan being all new and shit?” She swings her legs and bounces on the bed making your eyes roll.

"Seeing as it is impossible to get you to leave, what is it that you want to know?" You sigh and take a seat in your chair.

"How come you made up a new clan? Didn't you have one before? What's your life story, tangerine?" She smiles widely and you run your hand through your hair.

"My life story... It's a long story." She checks her watch and shrugs.

"It's not like I have anything better to do while Porrim checks on everyone else's clothes." 

"Alright, whatever. Something you want to know specifically?" You rub your neck as she hums.

"Nah, just start from the beginning! What made you want to leave your original clan." 

"That's easy; the uprising." You shrug.

"Sooo... What about?" She makes a gesture for you to continue.

"Jake and I... Well, you know Bronder is my father. He was currently in the demon realm sorting shit out with my other father. Neither Jake nor I were allowed to join the fight because we weren't qualified, not that Bro wanted either of us there. My other father on the other hand, he was all about the war. When his clan was asked to join, he said yes without thinking it leaving Dave and Rose in Bro's custody." You tap your fingers in your computer desk as you recall the events.

"What about Jake?" 

"Ah Jake... His clan story was... A bit more saddening. His clan was very traditional. The head of the clan was an elder demon, Jake's grandmother. She was a very strict and firm woman. She didn't approve of our relationship. She believed demons for different clans would produce weak spawnling."

"That isn't true, is it?" Terezi is laying back on the bed with her hands crossed behind her head. You've never seen a more relaxed hunter.

"No, it's quite the contrary. Demons of the same clan will spawn the same demon forever. Take flowers for example; if you make two small purple flowers produce a new flower, they'll always make the same small purple flower. But if you make a small purple flower make a new one with a large yellow flower, odds are you'll make a large purple flower, better than the smaller one." You tell her as you play around with a pencil.

"So in theory... Different demons make an super ultra better demon. Alright keep going!" 

"Yeah OK. So, Jake's grandma, sweet old lady. Badass as fuck, she kicked me out of her house a fuckton of times because she wasn't happy with me being with Jake. I was born in the demon realm and all of Jake's family had been born in this realm. That was two things that made me an unlikely match for Jake, or so his grandma thought."

"Is that why you both left? Got hitched and skipped town?" She clapped her hands excitedly making you roll your eyes.

"No, of course not. This isn't one of Karkat's silly movies."

"So then what happened?"

"War happened. In the uprising, my father was killed so Bro decides to leave the demon realm. He was clanless with two fledging demons to take care of. Twin-kin, no less. So I decided to help out, I established domain in this side of town. Bro refused to take charge of our make-shift clan so I took the position."

"But you were just four people, how is that a clan?" She lays across the bed with her head in her hands.

"We were more than four. After the war, Jakes clan became unstable. His grandmother died and many others that had made alliances with her did as well. The clan broke down, families decided to leave and take refuge in the demon realm or within larger, already established clans."

"What did you do?"

"I told Jake to come with me, to make a new start. Some others who held high respect to him and his grandma followed him. We were about 23 demons when this clan started. I quickly made alliances and established domains to get more members and well, being from a well respected clan from the demon realm thanks to my father and Bro, people joined us."

"Wow... The uprising really had an impact on everyone didn't it?" Terezi hops off the bed and stretches her back.

"Yes, I suppose it did. Many lives were lost so people learned." You shrug and she nods.

"Alright, orange jelly. I'm satisfied with your story telling skills." She pats you on the back and you're proud to say you only flinched once. Hunters touching you still makes you uneasy.

"Uh OK, cool." You fiddle around with a screwdriver you had in your pocket. “Is it my turn now?” You tell her as she continues to smell the magazine.

“Your turn for what?” 

“To ask you questions about your life. It’s only fair.” You shrug. She nods and sits up, crossing her legs.

“Alright, ask away!” She gestures around.

“You said your mother was poisoned by a Dracon demon. How’d that happen?” 

“Uh, I don’t know the whole detailed story but apparently it involved her trying to save someone from being attacked. She got in the way of the demon and he decided to chomp on her arm for the giggles. Bam! Poisoned and thoroughly fucked.” 

“That seems like shit. I’ve heard Dracon poison is a bitch.” 

“Sure was. She had to be monitored by six magic wielders. All class five. She almost died twice but she pulled through, luckily.” 

“And her status as _Redglare_ , how’d that start?” 

“Ah, well… She went into demon slayer training. Even with her slight disadvantage, she excelled at hunting and tracking. Of course, everyone knew what her ultimate goal was.” She stays silent and you lift an eyebrow at her.

“Which was?” You usher her to continue.

“Catching the demon that tried to kill her, of course! She hunted him down for _weeks_. Finally, when she found him, she decided to use her use a powerful magic mix called ‘pyralsprite.’ That stuff is used to dull the vision of demons but if it’s used in bigger amounts, it leaves the demon with burned retinas. Funny that she was known for this method, even gained a nickname for it and then I come out blind. As Dave would say, _ironic_.” You wince at her story. She smiles and shrugs.

“I fail to see the humor in all of this. It’s a sick joke on your mother.” 

“Me being blind isn’t her fault, it’s the demon's poison that tainted our blood. Who’s to say a brat of my own won’t be color blind or some shit like that?” She shrugs again and you hum in agreement.

“You won’t be following you mother’s steps then? Hunting Dracon demons doesn’t cut it for you or what?”

“Hah! I think she’s made such a name for herself in that category that anyone stupid enough to try to follow in her steps would be wasting their time. Contrary to popular belief, I don’t want to be standing under my mom’s shadow trying to reach some stupid expectations everyone seems to have of me. I’m much better off doing my own stuff.” 

“Point well made. I guess I can comprehend why you’d say that. I never wanted my abilities to be compared to Bro’s either. I wanted to do my own thing which is how I came up with Hal.” 

“Heh, you’ll have to tell me that story some other day.” She stands and stretches her back popping her joints before feeling around the bed for her cane.

“You’re leaving?” You stand with her and she pats your shoulder.

“I knew you’d accept my charming personality and come to consider me as a great person.” She winks and you roll your eyes.

“Yeah, you’re not so bad, so what?” You cross your arms. Sure, she wasn’t such an ass as you originally thought but you don’t need to fawn because you made a new friend. 

"I'll be seeing you, Dirk." She grins and you give her a two finger salute. 

You watch her leave and sigh as you lean back in your chair. You haven't talked about your past life in so long. It felt... Refreshing.

You guess Jake is right, dwelling and pinning over past events is pointless. Maybe now you can finally start putting it behind you.

He also seems to be right on one _other_ thing: demon hunters aren’t so bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **Dracon** : Dragon (I think this was obvious)
> 
> We won't be seeing the actual wedding until later, it might be a two parter!


	20. Past Ties and Future Knots

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kanaya sometimes wonders how she got caught up in all of this mess. Then again, with the friends and family she has, she wonders how it didn't happen even sooner.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter just got way out of my hand. I just couldn't stop writing! Introducing more charactesr and more back story for Kanaya!!

“The outfits look splendid, Kanaya. I’m honestly quite fond of my own. This wedding will certainly not be the only time I wear it for.” Rose says as she clutches the garment bag containing her outfit she will wear on the day of the wedding.

“You could also wear it to fancy dinners, actually.” 

“I meant I would wear it around the house, but your idea is grand as well.” She smirks at you and you smile. 

“Rose dear, have you-”

“Kanaya please, I’ve been checking every chance I get. I have not foreseen any tragic or slightly-bad outcomes at the wedding. I will continue to check but I do not think they will try anything, there will be so many hunters and demons not to mention those magic-humans.” She waves her hand around.

“Truly they would be stupid…” You mutter as you watch Rose’s reflection on the mirror.

“Speaking of which, I have tested Karkat’s friend, Gamzee, for any trace of dark magic but he is clean. Whatever it is they have administered to the humans, it seems to be pure.” 

“I have a slight suspicion as to _who_ is the person, or might I say people, who have been administering the supplies to the Cult.” You watch her hang the garment bag in her closet and shuffles towards you.

“Oh? Are the people whom you trust? Perhaps they are filled with dire intentions?” She cocks her head to the side.

"No, I do not think they are filled with any harmful intentions. Mainly, they must believe they did the correct thing." You take a hold of Rose's arm and check the stitches of her sleeve. You seem to have let a string that's beginning to unravel.

"Dear me, I seem to have left a string loose. Shit. Oh, whoops pardon me." You say as you begin to fix her sleeve.

"Oh Kanaya, let that be. I accidentally pulled at it and it started to unravel. It's not your fault." She brushes you off but takes your hand in hers, rubbing it softly.

"What to do next, my love." She murmurs as you wrap an arm around her waist.

"We must go back to the HQ, I must confront this person at once." You rub her shoulders and she leans her head against your chest.

 

"Alright, should I let you go?" She says but her grip around your waist tightens.

"No, of course not. Will you accompany me?" You tilt her head up and her purple eyes grow bright.

"My pleasure. Might I ask you, who is it that you suspect?" She says a she gathers a small clutch with her cellphone and a black lipstick.

"I have the slight suspicion it might be someone working in the keeper area, someone with access to a great deal of magic but unable to wield it herself." You grab your own bag and head out with Rose.

"Her? So she is incapable of performing magic, human I suppose. Who is she, dear?" 

"An old friend, or she was. Vriska Serket."

__________________________________________________________________________

Rose dozed off during the car ride back to the HQ. Good thing it is at least an hour away, this way she has time to rest. She has been straining herself to see the future and calculate possible hostile events that might occur in the ceremony. It's taking a toll on her.   
Her small tendrils curl in your lap and around your wrist and you smile.  
They seem to have a mid of their own, obeying Rose out of respect but curling towards you out of affection. Rose has told you that they are basically her pets without the messiness but they are also an extension of herself. Basically, she's a fascinating demon who you love fondly.

When you see the car driving out of the city you tense up. How are you to confront your past crush? It is bad enough you both haven't spoken in almost a year, now you have to seek her out and accuse her of what could be potentially a crime towards the order! No, the order is corrupt and you will not bring her to them, she does not deserve punishment for this, she just need to give you an explanation. Yes, that's all you want.

A knock on the windowsill shakes you out thoughts. The tendrils around your wrist curl defensively sensing a strangers presence.

"Ma'am, we are here." The drivers voice says.

"Yes! I'll be out in a minute."

"Of course, Miss Maryam." 

You nudge Rose's shoulder lightly and the tendrils loosen there grasp. One of them gently caresses your arm and you smile.

"My Rose, we are here." She shoots up right at once.

"Damn, I fell asleep! I see my kiddies have copped a feel. Much more than I have done in years." She smirks and you feel your face burn.

"Come now, they're just very fond of me..."

"I can assure you, we all are." She grins and you shove her shoulder lightly.

"Let's go, Rose." You roll your eyes and take her hand.

"So this is the famous North American HQ. Quite smaller than I imagined it to be." Her sarcasm is heavy and you nudge her hip with your own.

"Funny. Now, please hold still while I cast a protective shield on you." Her tendrils disappear under her skirt and she remains immobile.

You concentrate your energy and take a deep breath. Space magic is powerful but it does take its toll on you. As a Space hunter, you are in tune with the magic around you, you can shield a person from being attacked by other magic spells or you can leave a person exposed. Space is everything and everywhere but the way you use it or control it manifests differently; Porrim for example can manipulate the area around her creating a different surroundings. You've heard of space hunters who can change the size of objects making them occupy a different "space."

You finish concealing Rose under your protective spell and nod.

"All done."

"Might I know what that was for?" 

"The HQ is filled with anti-demon wards. If you would've gotten close without any protection you would've been stunned and knocked unconscious." 

"Oh dear, well we can't-" she breaks off and whips her head to the side.

"Rose? What's-"

"Something is out here. Tell your driver to head inside." The purple from her eyes intensifies and her human form flickers for an instant to her demon form.

"Shane, head inside. We will be right behind you. Tell the crew to be on the look out." You tell the drive and he nods.

"Rose should we go inside?" You scan the area with your eyes. At your side, Rose doesn't move.

"Now why would you go an do that? It's pretty rude to leave a gill like me standing here all alone in the dark." A voice says from the dark. Rose's eyes widen as she steps in front of you.

"How are you here?" Rose whispers.

"Same as you lil' gill. I came from the demon realm." A shadowy figure moves until the lights from the HQ illuminate her. You gasp once you see the figure.

"The Nox witch." You murmur and the witch frowns.

"I reely hate the codawful name. Generations before yours were much more polite." She sneers and Rose growls.

"You shouldn't be here." Rose grits through her teeth. You hold her hand and she gives you a squeeze.

"Where's lovah bouy? Either of those two, I don't care which one, just hand them ovah." Her thick sea demon accent seeps through.

"You are not welcome here, sea witch." You pull your weapon out of your belt and she grins.

"Oh I've been urchin' for a fight." She raises her hands and you do the same. You will not let her attack.

Although it seems Rose has already planned ahead of you because you can see her tendrils stretching behind the witch.

It seems your job today is to be a distraction.

"Alright, if you have been looking for a fight, you have found one." You raise your WEAPON.

"So proper! Such eelagance and grace. Whale lemme guess, you're ol' Maryclam's daughter." You freeze for a moment at the mention of your mother but keep your face impassive.

"A'ight gill, hand over them bouys and no harm whale come to ya." 

"I will do no such thing. I believe your time here is over, by the way."

"I leave when I wanna." 

"How's about now?" Rose says as a thick sharp tendril pierces through the witches chest.

"Ah fuck! You conniving little shit. Clever, even for a Strider. I know your momma, ya know? Pleasurable women, can't get enough of her- Agh!" Rose pierces through her even further.

"Why aren't you dead?" She deadpans.

"What? You think I'm stupid enough to come here in my reel foam? Hahaha, you must be outta ya mind. You evah heard of a hydra demon? You're lookin' at one." She starts to dissolve into a black thick tar-like substance.

"Why were you here? Who sent you?" Rose asks as the witches face begins to melt off.

"The man himshelf. The one who controls all. Tell you're little twin-kin I'm gonna be krillin' his lil' mate reel soon." Her form melts to the ground into a puddle of bubbling black goo.

"We've got to tell the others. Things are moving a bit faster than I anticipated." Rose's tendrils snap back and hide under her dress. She takes your arm and pulls you to the building. "One thing is for certain."

"And what is that?" 

"Dave is going to lose his mind when I tell him our mother is still alive."

__________________________________________________________________________

"It's impossible, she couldn't have just walked out of the Medium without anybody noticing!" Karkat through a his hands up in the air as he paces around the control room.

"I wouldn't believe it either if I hadn't saw it myself, but it is true. She's escaped." You sigh.

"Well what the fuck are those lazy bastards doing there? Jamming their thumbs up their asses? Fuck, this shouldn't have been able to happen!" 

"Karkat, I understand you're concerned about the witch but what matters now are you and Dave. She's after you for some reason." Rose looks over at Karkat and Dave, who has remained uncharacteristically quite for this whole discussion.

"Did she try to attack you?" Porrim asks.

"Only when I taunted her. She seems rather eager to engage in some form of battle, she said it herself." You recall her saying she had been looking for a fight.

"She's obviously pleased to be out and causing trouble again." Jade hums.

"Sooo? Are we just going to stand here and talk about this fucking bitch witch or are we gonna do something!" Roxy bounces on her heels.

"She doesn't want to fight as yet. She just came to show off. Make us aware of the situation. She's trying to trick us into following her around on some wild goose chase until whoever is her second in command finished what they need to do." Dave says. He's leaning against the wall, arms crossed and clearly tense. His eyes haven't left Karkat since you told them about the incident.

"You... Might actually be right. How did I miss that?" Rose's head snaps up to meet his eyes and he shrugs.

"Two heads are better than one." Karkat and Dave say at the same time.

"Aww! Their bonding skills are getting so strong!" Roxy squeals as Jade facepalms.

"This is serious, Roxy!" 

"Oh hush, it's totes adorable!"

"If Dave is right, we must figure out who her second in command is. Both of them must be receiving orders from the same person." Porrim turns to the screen that displays the face of notorious hunters and demons known for their association to the witch.

"I'm going to call Kankri. Something isn't adding up and I'm fucking sure his kin-mate can fill in the blanks." 

"Karkat, you aren't suggesting that the demons have let Ma-"

"Yes. I'm suggesting exactly that. Shitheads have been poking that cage for sometime. If the stupid sea witch is out, who's to say the other asshole hasn't escaped? We can't trust the order anymore and we might not able to trust some of the elder demons anymore. We're going to have to rely on the Cult and its alliances and even then we're going to be taking a goddamn risk in trusting these devotee fucktards." Karkats shakes his head in frustration.

"So what do you propose?" Porrim's voice changes. She's no longer asking as a friend, she is asking as the leader of the North American HQ to the leader of the Cult.

"Send someone to survey the prisons of the medium. Send a surveillance team to preform a check-up. As soon as I contact Kankri, I'll have a team sent over to the furthest ring to check the hunters prison. In the meantime, run profile investigations on all former associates of the witch. I want to know where these fuckers have been since the uprising." Karkat concludes. Porrim crosses her hand behind her back and bows down. A form of respect from a high rank hunter to another. Karkat bows back and walks out of the room.

"Well, he's hot when he's giving orders isn't he?" Roxy wiggles her eyebrows and Jade snorts.

"He's _always_ hot, Lalonde." Dave smirks and everyone erupts into snorts and giggles. Everyone except Porrim who frowns.

"Have respect. Now get on with the tasks your leader has given you. Jade, Roxy; inform Terezi and Sollux of the current situation and then gear up. As soon as I make the call to the medium, you're going down there to investigate. Dave, please follow Karkat and don't let him get distracted. Rose, Kanaya; I was under the impression that you needed to speak to Terezi? Get to her before they're sent off." Everyone nods and bows down respectively. 

You and Rose walk out of the room and you pull her towards the living quarters.

"This wholes situation reminds me of a book I read once. It was called 'Destroyers Love', very good book." You tell Rose as you walk down the halls.

"Oh? How so, do tell."

"Well the main character had to take up responsibilities of his kingdom who had just been declared war by his evil uncle, all while balancing his love life-" Rose giggles and you sigh, "Oh, you meant it sarcastically. You twat."

"I'm sorry, I just love teasing you so much. It's far to easy." 

"Yes well, it was a very good book. Karkat lent it to me."

"Then I am even more amused. He certainly has a rather odd taste in literature, of those books can even be called literature."

"Trashy romance novels are great, Rose Strider! You'll fucking love them once you read one!" Karkat yells from behind a door your passing by.

"I so very much doubt that- Ow! Fine okay, they're the best ever! Ow! Fuck stop it, we're not even married yet an this is already a harmful relationship." Dave shouts. You both giggle as you hear his complains.

"Why exactly are we coming to see Terezi? I thought you said your friend Viska was the one we needed to talk to." 

" _Vriska_ , an she's not a friend. Not anymore..." Rose quirks an eyebrow but you merely ignore her, "Terezi is close friends with Vriska. If anyone knows where in this dudgeon that girl is, it will be her." Rose hums and you can almost see her trying to figure out what happened between you two. You wish she really didn't.

"Terezi? Terezi I need to speak to you." You knock on the door softly and you hear a loud thud from behind the door. "Are you OK?" The door swings open and reveals Terezi holding what looks like John's war hammer.

"Please don't tell him I have this. Oh, and if you're here to tell me about the sea bitch, I mean witch, Jade already beat you to it. So when do we leave?" She walks back into her room and flops on the bed, her legs dangling from the side.

"Uh well, I'm not sure since I won't be accompanying you. The wedding ceremony is in two weeks and I need to finish preparations. The wards have yet to be put up and we cannot have the ceremony without the protection runes."

"How utterly disappointing! So what brings you to the rainbow palace of red?" You contain yourself from telling her that a rainbow consists of more colors other than red because with Terezi it's pointless.

"Yes well, you see I'm looking for Vriska. I've happened to find some incriminating information that might link her to a possible-"

"Crime? Is she going to be sent to the reformation facility again? I told her to quit doing stupid things but she never listens!" Terezi hops out of bed and slams her fist on the table.

"Not exactly. I do think she is somehow involved in the traffic and dealing of-"

"Drugs?! This is more serious than I thought!"

"I was going to say magic items and spells. Runes perhaps? I am not sure of the details yet." You frown.

“So what has that little spider gotten into this time?” 

“I believe she might have something to do with the magic the humans partook of to become immortal.”

“Hmm… That _does_ sound like some shit she’d pull. OK, Miss tasty jade. You might actually have a case against her. She’s down in the fourth wing, the experimentation rooms.” 

“Is she being tested?” You can’t help the worry that tinges your words.

“No, she’s helping out old Psyon with some new weapons he’s trying to make against those nasty black blobs Dave and Karkat fought.” She shrugs.  
“Thank you, Terezi. I will be seeing you.” You nod at her and she smiles before you shut the door.

 

“You were awfully quiet during the whole exchange.” You tell Rose as you ride the elevator down to the experimentation level.

“I’ve been making up scenarios in my head.” She muses.

“Oh? Scenarios about what?” You ask knowing already where this is going.

“You and Vriska. I’ve narrowed it down to two; one is that you were close friends and she betrayed your trust so you stopped speaking to her or two, you were both romantically involved and have somewhat of a turbulent past which is why you keep pulling at the hem of your blouse. I obviously wish to avoid the drama and want it to be the first option but by the way you are blushing, I can see it’s the second one.” Rose concludes as the elevator dings and opens.

“I didn’t want this to be a whole ordeal. I just wanted to get this over with. Vriska and I… Well, we met way back. When we were children. She from a mixed family, her mother was a demon and her father was a hunter who was also part of a mixed family. She was born human but gifted with immortality. As much as she insisted to be trained as a hunter, the order decided against it but they let her study to be a keeper. She helps the keeper of the grimoire, since she’s human and can’t wield magic, they decided this would be the best job for her. Funny since this has apparently granted her access to high rank magic.”

“Interesting… So what happened between you two?” She inquires. You sigh.

“Things began to get difficult. The uprising left her orphan, as you might have guessed. She was tired of watching the battles from the sidelines and pressured me into taking a stand against the orders decision. Porrim of course, advised me against it so I didn’t help. We started to distance because of this, we just stopped seeing eye to eye on things. She started to say the order wasn’t reliable. Silly how that turned out.” 

“As Dave would say, ironic shenanigans.” 

You come up to the door you’ve been looking for and flick your fingers in a certain way to activate the door. It glows blue for a second and then a handle appears. You push against it and walk into the room filled with books, weapons and other battle items.

“Did someone send me my- Oh! Kanaya it’s you. Hello my dear, how is everything with the living?” Psyon, the father of Sollux looks up from his workbench and smiles at you.

“Chaotic as always. Have you been briefed?” 

“Yes, Porrim sent message to all of us old farts.” He chuckles as he looks back down to the item in his hand and you laugh. 

“Psyon, I know you’re busy. I just came to ask you if you’ve seem Vriska anywhere.”

“She must be in the back. Go on through, kiddo.” He jabs his thumb at a door behind him without looking up. You pat his back as you walk past him and he waves a screwdriver in acknowledgement. 

“Goddamit, Psyon! I told you I’d bring it out as soon as I- Oh.” Vriska looks up from the box she’s digging through and pauses once she see’s you.

“Hello Vriska, long time.” 

“I’ll say. What brings you down to the pits of hell?” Her mechanical arm, a result of a previous incident, rests on her waist.

“I need to speak to you about a certain subject. It’s very important.”

“Ha! If it brought you all the way down here, I’m guessing it’s important. How long has it been? Six months?” She looks back down in the box and pulls out several metal parts.

“Yes, something like that… Vriska I really think-”

“Who’s your friend?” She points her wrench at Rose and you feel your face heat up.

“Oh yes, um… Vriska Serket meet Rose Strider.” You leave out the part of you both being involved in a relationship. Rose presses her lips in a thin line.

“Strider, huh? You part of that clan Karkat’s marrying into?”

“Yes, I’m sister of the demon Karkat’s marrying, yes.”

“Haha, yeah OK. So you’re a demon as well? I didn’t know you were into demons, Kanny.” Vriska looks up at Rose.

“How did you-”

“Word travels. Even down here. So are you here to arrest me for selling shit to those silly humans over at lunatic town?” She sets down the metal piece.

“No, we’re not.” Rose says before you can even gather your thoughts.  
“Well then? Did you just come to stand here and look at me or what the hell? I’m busy and have shit to do.”

“We want to know why.” You ask.

“Well why the hell not? I got paid and contributed to the war, didn’t I? Everything I ever wanted. No one suspected of me so who the fuck cares?” She shrugs.

“Vriska, you could’ve done some serious damage! You don’t know how humans would have reacted to these spells.” 

“Look, they’re alive. The way I see it, you should be thanking me. Thanks to me, Karkat now has an army of brainwashed idiots that would go to war against bunny rabbits if he told them to.”

“Porrim will want to hear about this, you know.” She shrugs again and you sigh.

“Shit happens.” she mutters, “I will tell you this, the Cult wasn’t the only one trying to get their hands on this shit. Some weirdos tried to hassle me into giving my stash up. You might want to look into that. Tell our fearless leader he’s dealing with some powerful assholes.” 

“I will. Thank you, Vriska. Remember, Porrim _will_ talk to you about this.”

“Yeah yeah. Later, Maryam.” She waves you off and you frown.

“Goodbye, Vriska. I hope to see you at the wedding.” She gives you a two finger salute and you walk out of there.

“Goodbye, Psyon. Please do not wear that headband to the wedding.” You tell him as you walk by him with Rose at your side.

“No can do, Kanaya. This thing is glued to me.” He taps it without looking up and you sigh.

You walk out of the room and seal it up again. 

“So this was an enlightening experience, wouldn’t you say?” Rose quips and you frown.

“If you say so. I’m starting to think this whole wedding-ceremony is not a good idea.” Rose pats your shoulder.

“On the contrary, it’s a great idea. At least everyone will wind down and relax. I’m honestly getting tired of everyone living under the constant fear of war starting in any moment.” 

“Isn’t that how it will happen?” You rub your temple and walk into the elevator. Rose wraps her arms around your waist and you do the same to her.

“Yes, things do tend to blow up in our faces all the time, don’t they? At least let us enjoy the festivities. Let us preoccupy ourselves with last minute details of flowers and cake instead of guns and swords.” She kisses your cheek and you smile.

You hug her tightly and nod. Well, at least you have something _good_ to look forward to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I'm prolonging the actual chapter to the ceremony slash wedding, but I need to fill in these plot holes. Is the story still comprehensible? Ahhh I don't know! If I'm confusing you, please feel free to shout at me in the comments -_-


	21. Unwelcome

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night of the fancy demon council dinner arrives and Dave Strider could not be any less excited. He knows things can go bad but honestly, he didn't take they would go _this_ bad.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh god guys, I am very sorry I haven't updated in so long but things have been crazy with college. I honestly forgot how stressful school could get. I'm trying to make up for it by uploading a very long chapter (honestly, I've given up on writing short chapters) so I hope y'all can forgive me. 
> 
> As always, _italics_ are for mental conversations between Karkat and Dave, **bold** are for conversations or words in the demon language.

Karkat is leaning against your chest texting furiously at someone, Kankri probably, while you stare out of the obscured windows of the car. "Are we there yet?" You ask for the third time in the same hour.

"Dave, if you ask that one more time I swear to god I'll shove my phone down your throat." Karkat shoves your shoulder.

"Don't do that dude, you're gonna mess my outfit up." You grin when he rolls his eyes. 

You start tapping a rhythm with your fingers and find yourself humming a tune you can't even name when Karkat shuffles away from you.

"Hey, what gives?" You say as you tug him back to your side.

"No, no stop. Listen to me! This shit we're doing today is very fucking important. Sea demons put a lot of importance on their political gatherings. We need to... Behave?" He says the word like he's testing it out. It makes you snort.

"Karkat dude, are you shitting me right now?"

"There! That, what you just did? Don't do it at all tonight. No using shitty language or being informal. This has to be done right." He falters a little as he types and grunts as he mashes the backspace.

"Man, come on! My bro is _on_ the council of non-realm demons. I know what's expected of me." You huff in annoyance. Bro and Dirk have always drilled you into taking those etiquette and political lessons serious. In a world where one must disguise their true intentions, that shit was needed.

"Have you ever even been to one of those meetings, Dave?" Karkat quirks an eyebrow at you without actually taking his eyes off the phone. You pluck it out of his hands and he makes grabby hands until he looks up at you.

"Not exactly, no. I'm not age appropriate to attend. When I'm old enough, Bro will step down so I can take his place in the Realm council. Or maybe Rose will take his place, political crap was never my gig." You shrug and Karkat snatches his phone back.

"Listen to me: act nice and formal. Please for all that is fucking holy in this batshit crazy planet, don't get in trouble." He shakes your shoulder gently and you nod.

"Alright, I can do that. I've been trained for this type of shindigs. I've never actually put it to use but I'm sure we'll be fine." Karkat looks at you and let's out a nervous little giggle.

"Cronus' father, Orphaner, he's the one hosting this battle royal. We're trying to create an alliance, have to get him to agree to side with us instead of the witch bitch. His son, Eridan, he's a fucking tool. We knew each other some time ago but... I tried to kill him. So yeah, we're not on the best terms." He gives you a small smile and you chuckle.

"So we're basically startin' this shit on the wrong foot. Way to go, babe." You kiss his forehead and he shoves at your shoulder, smiling.

"Fuck off, jerk face. My dad and Orphaner have a uh, history. I'm not 100% sure but when my dad left the order, I heard rumors that they were getting _close_ again." He mumbles while his face gets red and scratches his neck nervously.

"You mean they were banging? Holy shit." You laugh at his mortified expression.

"Jesus fuck, Dave. Can we _not_ use those terms when we're talking about my dad? That's not a picture I want to see printed in my brain. Great, now I can't get it out of my mind. Good job, Dave." He puts his hands over his ears and starts humming the tune of what you're pretty sure is Nicki Minaj's "super bass." _So_ 2010.

"Right, my bad. I'll stop. Is this why you're all tense? 'Cause your dad is gonna get you a new mommy?" You poke him in the ribs and he grunts as he tries to scoot away.

"Shut the fuck up. Are you sure you can do this? I don't want to pick up the slack for a shithead who can't wipe his own ass." 

"Dude, I'm getting some mad sick hostile activity coming from you. Feeling pretty attacked." He smirks and shuffles back into your lap giving you a soft kiss, slowly moving down your jaw. "Is something going on here? 'Cause I ain't sure I can get things going on here." His frown tells you you were waaaay off.

"Just remember: best behavior and _no_ PDA." His smirk widens as you feel your jaw go slack.

"What? You're kidding me." He leans into your personal space, you're practically breathing his air. You close your eyes, leaning in slowly to feel the brush of his lips against your own. He's careful and goes slowly. When he leans back, you're sort of out of it until you see him smile.

"What was that for?" You say slightly out of breath.

"We're here, ass nugget. Let's go and fix your collar, it's crooked." He brushes his suit and slides over to the other side of the car. Someone opens the door and Karkat beckons you to follow.

"Hunter Vantas, welcome to the **Litus** Palace. The Signless and the **vox** have arrived and wait for you in the vestibule." A tall demon with slits instead of a nose gestures for you to walk through the door. 

You try to take Karkat’s hand and he slaps your palm. You give him a clear look that says “what the hell, man?”

"Hey what gives, chump?" You murmur under your breath.

"I told you, no affection. I was serious, Dave." He suddenly slips a piece of fabric from his coat pocket and shoves it in your direction. "Put this on."

"This is ridiculous. Why are you giving me this handkerchief?" You wave it around in his face. He frowns and sighs in defeat.

"It's a sash, dumbass. Clip it over your shirt. You're here in representation of your clan... Sort of." He shrugs as he slips on his own. It's gold and grey. You notice your own; red and black.

"What do the colors stand for?" Following his steps, you slip it on.

"Gold is my hunter rank. Grey is my aspect guard."

"You'd think it would be red..."

"Oh, because I can command blood? I can't actually do that, you know, It takes training. Blood aspect is more than just fucking using a person, Dave. They're bonds, companionship, equality. Grey is neutral, as we all should be."

"That's some deep shit, 'Kat." You tease as he scans the room, “So what about mine?”

"Yours are obvious, right? Realm demon, time aspect?" You nod and grumble about stupid sea demons and their politics until Karkat slaps your chest to get your attention. 

"Shut it. Look, there's my dad. Remember what I said, Dave!" 

"Yeah, mom. Shut up."

You both walk towards Karkat's family and Cronus who looks like he swallowed something bad.

"Father. Kankri, Cronus." Karkat greets them with nods.

"You're late." Kankri frowns, specifically at you. What does I demon have to do to get on Kankri’s good side?

 

"We got here on time. You were just too early." Karkat grits out.

"Boys please, not now. Come on, let's go in. How's my suit?" The Signless asks Karkat who just tenses and nods.

You all walk behind Karkats father. You're aware that neither you nor Cronus have said one goddamn word. 

_The two demons who chat like crazy fucks are silent. Isn't that ironic?_ Karkat's voice resonates in your mind.

 _Shit happens, huh?_ you quip.

Another pair of demons greet you at two big double doors, swinging them open and proceeding to announce everyone. Assholes just _had_ to make a big deal about this.

"Announcing the Signless. Former head of the Cult division, unifier of the people: Kanker Vantas." You watch as Karkat's father walks down an aisle and several demons and humans alike gather to greet him.

"The **vox** , advisor to the Cult leader. Hunter rank: platinum: Kankri Vantas. Accompanying him, heir of the Ocean trades and to the Oceanus throne: crown prince Cronus Ampora the second." They both walk down shoulder to shoulder. Kankri has his head held high while Cronus looks like he's about to make a mad dash out the door.

"Current leader of the Cult, **daemon interfector** , second in command of the north american hunter HQ, hunter rank: gold. Karkat Vantas. Accompanying him, representing the Strider clan under authority of the demon realm; son of veteran warrior of the uprising Daevon Strider. Greater demon: Deivyd Strider." The man nods at you and Karkat to walk in. You pretend you didn't cringe at the mention of your dad’s name.

You walk next to Karkat feeling all eyes on both of you. It's pretty shit knowing that no one else gave Kankri and Cronus the stink eye.

 _It's my fault. I’m the demon killer, remember? They think I’ve brainwashed you into bonding with me and basically see me as the mastermind behind our commitment._ Karkat tries to play it off but you can feel his voice quiver.

 _This is some fucked up Game of Thrones shit, you know that right?_ He smirks and nods, the tension on his shoulders fading.

"Welcome, Vantas family. It's an honor to finally meet you!" A curvy demon with fuchsia eyes smiles at you all. Her long wavy hair is piled up under a tiara, some of it falling in some messy sort of style, framing her face. She's also wearing a sash like you; fuschia with black. She's a realm demon.

"Pretty Peixis. How've you been? It's been a long time." Cronus walks up to her and gives her a hug.

_How come he gets to show the love? You're fucking me over, Vantas._

_They're family. She's the Orphaner's niece, fuckface._ you can feel rather than see him roll his eyes.

"No one said you couldn't visit, silly! Oh. Excuse me, so rude of myself. You must be Kankri, Cronus has spoken very kindly of you," she shakes Kankri's hand who smiles and nods, "Signless, great to see you again." 

"Just Kanker, Feferi. We've been over this." He gives her a half smile.

"It would be informal of me to do that. Today, at least." She giggles and turns to both Karkat and you.

"You're the new leader of the Cult? Pleased to meet you, Feferi Peixis." 

"Karkat Vantas, at your order." He straightens his shoulders and gives a small bow while placing his hand over his heart.

"And you're Deivyd! I've heard and read so much about your clan. Your father was a brave man, **may he rest in the Realm.** " She says in the earth demon language. She offers her arm and you grip her forearm.

" **My the Realm watch over us.** " you say the answering words stiffly. You've never had to exchange pleasantries with royalty so you feel like a robotic machine. "Please, call me Dave. I insist." 

_Bro taught you well_ Karkat notes.

_He taught me enough but I have a feeling enough won’t make it here._

"So Feferi, where's your sister or my brat brother?" Cronus asks her in hushed tones.

"Meenah doesn't really like these sort of gatherings." She grimaces.

"Ya mean she was prohibited from comin' again, right?" Feferi laughs but immediately stops. She looks over Cronus' shoulder and stills.

"I thought I heard them announce my runaway son. Finally come back to the family business?" A tall demon; deep purple eyes, square jaw, hair similar to Cronus' and two matching scars on the side of his brow reaches over to pat Cronus on the back. His accent is funny, curving his w's into v's and vice versa.

"Father, I wouldn't miss it for the world." Cronus gives a small stiff bow.

"Orphaner, good to see you." Kankri says, his posture tense as well.

"Kankri Vantas, it's been some time since I've seen you." Orphaner nods at him.

This is the moment everything starts getting hilarious. Karkats father basically turns towards the demon and freezes in place, his mouth slightly open. Orphaner is in similar conditions; jaw tense, brow furrowed and face sweaty.

"Father, close your mouth you look like a gapping fish." Karkat gruffs.

"Ah. Ehem, yes. Apologies. Orphaner." He simply says.

"Signless. It's been... Some time." 

"It has. How are things in the ocean?" 

"Wet." 

It takes everything you have not to groan in frustration or laugh out like a maniac. At your side, Karkat looks like he wants to murder everyone.

"This exchange is going quite well." Kankri whispers to Cronus who's trying not to smile.

"Very funny. I'm glad you humor is still the same." The Signless says to Orphaner.

"And you're still as diplomatic as ever. Your kids seem fine." He gestures to all of you. Including you and Cronus.

"Rather diverse bunch. They keep in check."

 _Kill me now. Just end it, end my suffering. Drain me of my blood, I give you full permission._ Karkat pleads making your effort to remain stoic become challenging.

_This is the worst reunion I have ever seen, and I know Dirk._

"Things with the Cult going well?" Orphaner rubs his neck awkwardly.

"I passed it over to my son, remember?" Kanker Vantas is blushing. You're going to implode.

"I'm his son by the way." Karkat waves a hand finally breaking the horrible spell of adult flirting.

"Ah, the **daemon interfector.** Lowest ranking hunter to best an elder demon in history. Eight high priority captures, 72 sent into the medium and not one miss. Clean record. Except for you." He turns from Karkat and looks you in the eyes. Well, as far as he can with your shades.

"Impressive recollection of my case file." Karkat practically sneers.

"I need to know who I'm forming alliances with," he simply says, "Now you, you're a rare piece aren't you?" He stares down at you, very literal in this case. You're one tall dude but this guy is just insane.

"I've been called many things. "Rare" would be something I'd classify in the "decent" section of things people have called me. Deivyd Strider." You offer your arm and he grabs your forearm and shakes.

"I knew your father, Deivyd. Quite the rebel, you know? It's thanks to him things got started. He knew how to capture people's attention. Stoic as ever, never letting the others know his secrets," He smiles at you, "You didn't seem to fall far from the tree; raised by your rebellious father's lover, weren't you? Your older kin sibling, also a rebel. Left his kin mates clan. Such a scandal. Although you've been involved in your fair share of scandals; acting like a demon Robin Hood saving the poor and famine from us big bad politicians. And now, you grace the halls of a the most known politician in the hands of your demon killing lover." His smile grows wider and at your side, Karkat tenses. He doesn't like this type of treatment. No one makes your boyfriend uncomfortable except you.

"I'm glad you've kept up with my family's achievements. One might think you hold a certain interest in my family with how much you know about us. Do you perhaps keep a particular interest in someone? Although, you _are_ aware we are all in some way in a relationship, except... Bronder. He could also peek interests, but that's ridiculous. A noble man like you could have never have anything to do with a known supporter of the rebels. _Especially_ one who is a outer realmer. So do tell me, sir, what part of my family holds your interest so firmly?" You hold his gaze as his eyes flame up in anger although he quickly masks his expression.

"Your father was also great at cutting with words, much more than with that weapon of his. Words cut as deep as a sword, maybe even deeper. He was always in charge of intel and networking, I see you have taken it upon yourself to follow in his steps. Good work, Deivyd." He smiled at you in a way that looked like it was causing him physical pain. 

At least everybody else had funnier reactions; Cronus was biting back a smile while Kankri pursed his lips. At your side, Karkat looked like he had just seen the greatest exchange ever and the Signless, he looked like he just swallowed a nasty drink; his face was stern and hard, fists clenched. He reminded you of Karkat when he was pissed off at you. Only this Vantas' rage was directed at Orphaner himself.

"It's good to see you still keep tabs on your former _contacts_. You'd think you'd pay close attention to _all_ of your former associates. If you excuse me, I'll be on my way to speak to other members of the court. Feferi, dear, could you please point me in the direction of the noble comity?" He says to the curvy sea girl.

"Kanker, wait-"

"Not now, Cronidas." He snaps. His stern gaze shuts him up without another word of protest.

"Oh, yes of course. Right this way." Feferi looks between both adults and sighs. She turns slightly towards the left and walks away with the Signless.

Orphaner Dualscar is gapping like a fish. He looks like he can't breath. 

_Shit. Is he going to pass out? Quick, someone who knows CPR check his vitals._

_Shh, let this play out._ Karkat’s voice is heavy with humor.

"So, pops... Ya gonna say something or just stand there? Where's the little sh- I mean, Eridan? Haven't seen him." Cronus asks with a grin. He's clearly having a good time.

"Who?"

"Your son. Current heir to the throne, yada yada. Dad, you OK?" He waves a hand in front of Orphaner who now looks like a pale ghost.

"Yes, yes. He'll be here somewhere. Cronus, I need to attend to... _matters_. Entertain your company while dinner is served." He pats Cronus' shoulder and walks away, face completely blank.

"Well shit, that could've gone sour real quick." Cronus shrugs.

"You've got to be kidding me," Kankri frowns, "This was terrible! How could you have said that?" He turns towards you, hands on his hips.

"It's not like the condescending jerkass didn't deserve it. He has his head shoved up so deep in his ass he thinks it's fucking grand to pick on other people. Should've expected him to shit all over us. We're a fucking target in this fuckfest."

"Karkat, that, in no way justifies-"

"Hold up, I'm getting a phone call. Whoops it seems like it's the overly dramatic department, they're looking for you." Karkat holds out his hand and Kankri smacks it away.

"You're a child."

"And you're a whiny dramatic dick."

"I love when the family gets together, such love in this place. Can you feel the love? I'm sensing it from my brother-in-law right now." You wiggle your eyebrows at Kankri. He scoffs but doesn't say anything else.

"Speakin' of whiny dramatic dicks... I'm gonna look for my little brother. Come on, drama queen, let's go get you a drink." Cronus pulls on Kankri's arm and hauls him away from Karkat and you.

"You know, for someone who says he doesn't understand the political flow of mindless bullshit, you handle yourself well." Karkat says as he saunters over a table of finger food. He walks with his head high, steps graceful, nothing like the heavy loud steps he takes normally.

"I said I've never been to any political fuck-up, not that I can't handle it. I was the son of a rebel leader, you think Bro was never going to teach me to hand out asses like nobodys business? Please, you're looking at the expert of ass-handing. I hand them out like newspaper." Karkat frowns, picks up a cracker and shoves it in your mouth. It tastes like tuna and seaweed.

"How was it? As gross and vomitrocious as it looks?" 

"Not exactly. Hey, you think they have meat somewhere?" You say surveying the large table which seems to consist in sea food and pastries. 

"Uh probably, we might find some decent shit here." He nods his head toward a table of crackers. 

You both pick apart several appetizers and poke a variety of jelly with what seem to be cubes of meat. Noble people eat weird shit.

"What the fuck are you filling your trap with?" Karkat says with a grimace as you pop another appetizer in your mouth.

"Mmm... Not sure, I think it's some kind of duck pattè. Tastes pretty good, want some?" You offer him a cracker and he pushes your hand away.

"Ew, gross no!" He laughs and you smile. "Don't eat so much, we have a private dinner with the Amporas."

"I thought it was a dinner with the whole demon council?"

"It's the **oceanus** council, the heads of the sea demon clans get together and give their opinion to Orphaner; when a demon council is summoned, Orphaner holds the interest of the entire sea demons, quite literally. Demons hold balls and parties to get the attention of the council members and make petitions. Which is why we’re having a private dinner with the main leader’s family." He says as he bites around a cookie.

"Mmm... Sounds like a bunch of crap people do just to get a position in council. They don't even care about the people's well being, all they want is power." 

"Very humble coming from someone who already has a special spot reserved in the earth council, given his bloodline has always been a part of all the demon councils. Would you be saying the same if you were just another lower demon or would you also be pawing for a place to voice out your desires?" You lift your gaze to see a demon with dark purple eyes, much like Cronus' only his are framed by thick square glasses. His hair is slicked back, he's wearing a sash and the flap of his suit is adorned with his family crest.

"Ambassador Ampora I presume?" You offer a small bow with your a over your chest and he responds the same.

"Eridan, it's been some time." Karkat nods at him.

"Yes, last time I saw you, your brother had to interfere in our little death match." He looks both of you up and down. "Deivyd Strider, you look very similar to your father, not that I knew him, but I've seen pictures. I would even go as far as to saying you both share similar ideals."

"Probably. I grew up on said ideals, it would only be natural to concord with them." You shrug. 

"How's your work as ambassador been going along? I heard you had conflicts with the South American clans." Karkat says without paying much attention to his response.

 _Keep your guard up, he's tricky._

_He's harmless._

_He tried to kill me in a training session._

_Well, shit. Can we ever have a nice quiet evening?_

"...but enough of that. I've heard you to are engaged. How does that work out exactly? Weren't you already promised to another from a conflictive clan?" You tense at the mention of Tavros. Yeah alright, you might've been swindled into an arranged union some time ago, one of the reasons why you left your house. That shit didn't sit well with you, this was 2X38! Shit like that was something clans from 2XX8 did to unite clans, not shit you should be doing in this century!

"Things changed and I decided politics couldn't rule my life forever." Karkat is silent at your side. Sure, he knew you had _some_ ties holding you back but he didn't know about the union.

"Ah I see, love before duty? How utterly novel. I'm sure your kin mates are ecstatic about this news." He smiles and you frown. Thank god for your shades.

"It's not their decision in the end, now is it? What about you ambassador, how has your eternal pinning over the **abysso** representative been? I suppose it must be tiring after some years." You feign concern and have the satisfaction of watching him blanch.

"Mmm yes, my father told me to be wary of your sharp tongue. Very skilled." He opens his mouth to spit something more out but an announcer asks for your attention. 

"Time for dinner, I'll see you inside." He says and walks away.

You turn to towards Karkat to say something ironically stupid but he's turned away from you.

"Yo 'Kat, we gonna do this thing or-"

"You were already up for a union." He murmurs and begins to walk away. You quickly catch up to him and scoff.

"Are you still on about that? Dude, it was a political thing, nothing more. I only saw him a couple of times." You shrug.

"So you knew him?"

"Uh yeah, he's Rufioh's little kin-sibling, so we went out sometimes-"

"So you dated?" He spins around and frowns. Great going, Dave. You nailed it.

"Uh well, dating is such a big word and implies a lot of shit that didn't actually happen, so when you say "date" I can't actually know what you mean unless you try to ask something specifically. I mean, what does "dating" actually imply, right?" You keep rambling and watch as Karkat glowers at you.

"Did you go out? Did you kiss, did people know about you? That's what I fucking mean, Dave. Because apparently, Eridan knows which means _everyone_ knows you mutant vampire-bird!" He says in a very loud whisper.

"Mutant vamp- what? Dude it was way before you and I got together, I mean yeah sure I had already started hitting on you but it was just to see if I could, ya know, get a reaction. I didn't think you would actually go for it." 

"Oh, so what? I was your fucking experimentation trial? Try to see if the demon hunter falls for your little games, huh?" He grunts 

"No, no! You were my main dish, the other dude was just civil duty." 

"Oh gee, that makes me feel _way_ better. Asshole." He stomps away from you and you follow close behind in silence.

Way to go Dave, number one fiancé. Fuck you, Eridan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I took the idea of adding an "x" to the years from Undertale.  
> Please let it be known that I do NOT think Eridan is in any way a dick and I feel terrible for using him as the jerky character.  
> Rough translation of the latin words:  
>  **Litus** : Shore. The palace is literally on the shore so, yeah.  
>  **vox** : Voice. They call Kankri this because well... he talks too much. It's like his title.  
>  **daemon interfector** : Demon killer  
>  **oceanus** : Ocean  
>  **abysso** : Abyss 
> 
> Comments and or opinions are welcome as always guys!


	22. Explanations and agreements

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While you had planned for this evening to go slightly bad, you still needed to get things done and sealed, even if Karkat kept ignoring you. Asshole.
> 
> Bolded words are in the "demon language" aka latin because I'm unoriginal. But you already know that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, well this is just the conclusion for that big important dinner Dave and Karkat are attending. Mostly it's sappy fluff at the end but y'all know me. I love my sap.
> 
> I have finally achieved to write a quick chapter, next week I will keep the story moving!

You're both greeted by another announcer who ushers you in and takes you to your seats. Everyone is already there; Kankri looks as pissed as Karkat. So does the Signless for that matter... Fucking Vantas family and their disregard for nice family dinners.

"Grand, we are all here. We may begin our dinner." Orphaner says to which the Signless only grunts in response.

Dinner goes by mostly uneventful, that is if you can call three glowering Vantas', one overly content Eridan and a very uncomfortable Feferi “uneventful”.

"Are we going to address the pressing matters at hand or just sit around and look at our faces?" Karkat asks. You can tell that Kankri is completely out of it because he doesn't even bother telling Karkat he's being rude, he just continues glowering at Cronus.

"Ah yes of course, what is it that you have come to consult?" Orphaner asks Karkat while side glancing the Signless.

"Several things; the important one is the pressing matter of the Nox witch. She seems to want to form an alliance with several demon clans, sources say her first option are the sea demons because of... Obvious reasons." Karkat looks over at Feferi who's playing around with her dessert.

“I can see how that can be concerning for your people. What is your second concern?"

"The alliance you had previously offered, I take it that's out of the question?" Karkat ask, his usual gruff voice replaced with calm openness.

"It would depend on a rather varying conditions, you see when it was offered to the Cult, much different terms were agreed upon. Things have changed and we no longer need what we had once desired." Orphaner shrugs and Karkat nods at your side. He looks over to Cronus and Kankri who nod as Karkat sighs.

"Understood. Times have changed and we are no longer offering the same agreements. We'd be willing to work out a deal if you are still interested. We have grown larger and acquired much more power than what he had before, not to mention the person who will be in charge of these dealing will be me."

Orphaner mulls over Karkat's words for a few minutes before looking over at Cronus, who's face is expressionless.

"I'd consider it, but I don't promise much. I am lacking an heir to my throne who has abandoned his responsibilities and that makes for terrible decision making, not to mention the loss of allies this clan will suffer if we ally ourselves to the Cult. How will you make up for the clans I will lose? Our influence on the mainland is scarce already, losing more would be unwise of us." Karkat frowns and picks at his leftovers. He's right, you all know it. Cronus looks cornered and Kankri looks likes he's trying to figure a way to get him to accept. Eridan is looking snooty and smiling, he knows this isn't going to work out.

The Cult isn't highly regarded by those ancient clans who still remember the uprising, and Karkat is still feared by many smaller clans. He needs someone to back him up with enough power.

Well, time to make your father proud.

"We will back you up." You say. Everyone turns to look at you. Eridan purses his lips in distaste.  
"We have enough power to make a turning point in many smaller clans minds, we have a positions in the Realm council _and_ on the earth council that will make others see the implications of this war. Two powerful clans can make a change." You tell him.

"That decision isn't yours to take, you are not the head of the Strider clan." Eridan tells you.

"I came as a representative of my clan; if I take a decision during a council, they have no choice but to respect it. I have as much power as Deetrik or Rosavyn to make these choices. All you need to tell me is that you'll back the Cult and I’ll secure the alliance." You smirk as Eridan blanches.

"These terms seem agreeable, you have enough representation. I still have concerns over my heir being housed under your leadership. Any input on that, Vantas?" Orphaner looks over to Karkat.

"Personally, I believe that is not my son's concern. He has no power to rule your son's mind. This is a matter of freedom of mate-ship. Your son has chosen a kin-mate and you are now subjected to his decision under the law of free kin-mating. Unless you are uncomfortable with it?" The Signless crosses his arms and looks sternly at Orphaner. They maintain this silent argument where they just frown at each other. It's awkward. Meanwhile, you're just sitting here poking around Karkat's thoughts trying to get a read on him but he keeps pushing you away. It's hella annoying. 

“I suppose you are correct, Kanker. I cannot do much to change his mind but this is still troublesome. Cronus, you understand what is at risk with you declining, do you not?” 

“I haven’t got the talent for it, ya know that. I ain’t fancy or diplomatic and I’m not good at passin’ judgement over matters like this. I have done my readin’ though.” He clears his throat and takes a deep breath before speaking again. “Father, I will step down as next in line and by the Oceanus law, I give my place to Feferi Peixis.” He declares making the whole table go silent.

Eridan breaks the silence, glaring down at his brother “That’s not fair! I was next in line, I should be the one getting the throne, not her!” 

“You don’t have the authority or the military rank to overrule my decision, kid. This is how things are goin’ to be, whether you like it or not.” He says the last part while he stares down his father.

“I guess I have no choice.” Orphaner says after a beat. Eridan sputters and gets out of his chair, excusing himself and walking away. Karkat clears his throat after a minute and continues discussing several terms but you all know that the tension has resided. 

The rest of the evening is quite nice, if you count out the fact that Karkat keeps holding his fucking palm up every time you try to speak to him. 

It takes three times for you to snap.

“Excuse me, Orphaner but I need to speak to my fiancee right now.” Karkat turns his head and holds his hand out but you grip his wrist and drag him away with little protest from his part.

You pull him down a corridor and walk out towards a balcony, shutting the glass doors before turning to look at Karkat.

“What gives? Is this how you’re going to treat me from now on? Hold a hand up when I’m supposed to be quite, nod when I’m to speak? What the hell, Karkat. This shit is major crap.” He stares at you, jaw tense and fist clenched. “So you’re not going to speak? That would be a first.” You grit out.

“Fine then, don’t speak. I’ll do the talking tonight. Seems like I’ve earned the right after you shut me up so many times. I’m fucking sorry, okay? I never meant to say you were a second choice or that I was trying to see if my stupid plan would work. It was never like that. I loved you, you stupid shit. I loved you since you let me go way back when we were in Russia. You could’ve brought me back in, you had the methods but you didn’t. You followed me back to the Astakhov clan, yeah I know you followed me so don’t give me that look.” His eyes are wide and his arms are crossed over his chest as if he’s protecting himself from the cold which, given the weather he probably is.

“I knew you were tracking me down but the moment I entered the village and gave their leader the money and resources, you left. The same with the Danshov clan and then the same with the Valera clan in south america. When I went to help the Hayashi clan in Japan, their shipment had already arrived under my name. Funny, because I had never even set foot in Japan before that moment” Karkat tenses and looks away. “You stole my list and helped the clans in need of food and shelter.”

“I didn’t-” His voice is small but you cut him off with a shake of your head.

“Yes, you did. You know what those clans call you, Karkat? They don’t say your name in fear or whisper “demon killer” when they see you. They call you **vitae**. You gave them back their life, Karkat. You saved dozens of clans. That’s when I fell in love with you. And just fyi, I only agreed to unite myself to Tavros so I could get over you. Believe me, falling in love with someone you think is your enemy is pretty shit. My kin-siblings wanted to send me the fuck away into the Realm just so I could get my head straight. Ha, jokes on them.” You say, humorless. You feel tired and drained.

Karkat doesn’t look up at you. He remains with his gaze fixed on the ocean, lips pressed together in a thin line and hugging himself. He shivers when a breeze blows and you sigh. You pull your blazer off and walk over to him, draping it over his shoulders.

“Karkat, if I fucked up so much that you don’t want to be with me anymore, just,” your voice cracks and you need to clear your throat before speaking again, “Tell me. I’ll go, I promise. I won’t back out of the war but I’ll leave you alone.” You turn towards the door and walk away only to feel his arms wrap around your waist.

“Don’t leave me out here in the fucking tundra, dickface.” His voice is small but it manages to pull a smile out of you. “For the record, getting rid of me is going to take much more than that, not that you need to test the boundaries.” You turn around in his arms and hold his face between your hands. He’s just a couple of centimeters shorter than you but enough to make him look up. 

“ **My soul is yours, forever you ugly dick.** ” You whisper against his lips causing him to smile.

“Way to make a guy swoon, Dave.” He grunts but the smile is still there.

“Karkat, if you’re done we’ll be leaving now.” A voice makes you both jump and holy fuck, Karkat’s dad is one silent mother fucker.

“We’re done here, Mr. Vantas. I’m hoping things went over well with Dualscar?” You wiggle your eyebrows and yep, he’s blushing. Jesus, he’s like Karkat’s mirror.

“Deivyd, please. I don’t know what you’re implying but-”

“Dad, we all know what he was implying.” Karkat rolls his eyes as his father sputters.

“We’re just friends, boys.” 

“With benefits or is that still off the table since he was keeping tabs on my Bro?” You ask him.

“Karkat, Deivyd. Car, five minutes or we’re leaving.” He frowns at you both but you can still see the faint coloring on his face. He turns to leave while mumbling things about being _that_ obvious.

“I feel like a kid again.” Karkat shakes his head and pulls you towards the entrance of the palace.  
“I’ll give you something to stop making you feel like a kid.” You whisper in his ear and waggle your eyebrows.

“I quit this relationship.” He says with a sigh. 

All in all, it was a pretty nice dinner. Well, not really. 5 out of 10, would not recommend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **vitae** : life
> 
> Comments, questions or anything you want to tell me?
> 
> Also, I cannot believe this fic has almost reached 200 kudos! I am very happy that y'all consider this a good fic. Thank you to those who still read this silly thing!


	23. Bachelor Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Karkat Vantas has read every book and seen every movie about human weddings and he knows that bachelor parties are a part of this human tradition of marriage. He is all in for having the complete experience. Just not in this way...
> 
> Dave Strider was promised video games, friends and beer. He did _not_ sign-up to have an annoying dude question his motives to get wed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had fun writing this, I just wanted things to be funny and deep at the same time without making it too heavy and boring. I hope you guys like it. And can I just say, I need more Dave & Gamzee being bros because I really hate that whole rivalry thing they have going on. I just want everyone to be friends!!

"Hmm... Hey Karkat, is all that thing about the ceremony true?" Jade says as she throws her legs back over her head into some weird yoga position.

"What do you mean? Oh, the whole poison and killing your humanity thing?" You look over at her and try to mimic her position.

"Yep. It all sounds a tad made-up. Like those silly stories humans create. No wonder they think demons are vampires and hunters are super-humans." 

“We _are_ superhumans.”

“Yes, but not with capes!” She groans in a frustrated tone.

"In that case, I don’t fucking know! That's how myths are made though, they base them off real events- Agh fuck! How can you do this?" You let your legs fall back and sigh.

"With practice and inner peace!" She tumbles off your bed and lands on her feet.

"Fuck inner peace." You mumble.

Someone knocks on the door and you sigh when Jade runs to the door holding it in place.

"It's not him." You mutter unable to hide the slight disappointment in your voice.

"I've got to be sure, Aradia said I can't let him see you at all!" She opens the door a tiny bit and looks through the crack. "It's just Kanaya." She frowns.

"Yes, it is just me. I am sorry my presence does not cause you great emotion. I was hoping for a big commotion." She walks in and shuts the door behind her.

"Har-har." You lay back on the bed and sigh.

"It was sarcasm."

"I know, Kan."

"So how are you feeling?" You feel the bed dip at your side and shrug.

"He's nervous!" The other side of the bed dips and you turn to frown at Jade who is unfazed by your glare.

"I am fucking not! I'm just tired." You throw an arm over your eyes. You feel someone pat your head lightly and instantly shift towards the hand. 

"It's OK to be nervous, Karkat. I would also be nervous. It's an important day in one's life, it is the day all eyes will be on you." She says. You huff a breath at the thought of people watching your every move.

"Kanaya, I don't think you're helping." Jade giggles and you smile.

"You can always count on her for saying the right thing." You look at her and she rolls her eyes.

You decide spending the night with your friends won't be so bad: The three of you talk about stupid gossip that's been going around, about missions and scoutings. At one point, you put on Valentine's Day, that movie makes you happy. Knowing that Russell Brand wasn't hitting on Julia Roberts because he was, spoiler alert, actually gay had been such a plot twist. 

"He's not even that handsome, why is she dating him?" Jade wiggles a spoon at the TV.

"Because he's nice and loves her!" 

"So why did he go to his house and get naked? I don't see anything romantic about that." Kanaya picks another cookie and shakes her head.

"You just don't understand romance." You shrug. 

Just then, the door to your room flies open and Roxy waltzes in.

"Why wasn't I invited to Karkat's sleepover-bachelor party?"

"His what?" Jade asks.

"I believe a bachelor party is a festive event that is held to celebrate the ending of the grooms single days. Usually, it is held by the groom's best friend. Would that be me? I'm sorry, Karkat, should I have planned for naked men to come dance for us?" Kanaya swirls her wine around in her glass.

"No more wine for you." You tell her as you pat her head and smirk, "And no, I do not want a bachelor party, I'm fine with spending time with you guys." You can't help the slight blush that covers your face.

"Awww, you're so sweet! I wonder if Davey had one?" Roxy closes the door behind her and throws herself on the bed.

"Maybe, I'm not sure. He said he was going out." You remember him saying Rufioh and Gamzee wanted to take him for drinks. You're also sure Terezi and Aradia tagged along.

"Oh boo, both of you are so boring. So what're we doing here, hmm? Watching cheesy romcoms and painting our nails?" She says and you reflexively bawl your hands into fist, hiding your red nails.

"Yes! Why? You wanna join the fun?" Jade bounces on the bed eagerly.

Guess Lalonde is also joining in on the fun.

oOo

“Gambro, I’m all about this crazy drinking shit but bro, John? Why in the _hell_ did you invite the wind boy?” You shake your head as you watch John push random buttons into the controller. Aradia, another friend of Karkats, just shakes her head.

“Mingle time mixer, bro! Gotta get acquainted with family members. Spread some love, learn about each other.” Gamzee says while unwrapping another popsicle. 

“I’m pretty sure he’s not family, dude. He’s as friendly as my brother-in-law.” You mutter.

“I bet he’s fuckin’ awesome! Chatty Vantas is great.” He nods with his eyes half lidded and it takes everything you have not to facepalm.

Gamzee invited you a few hours ago with a text message that promised two things: mario party and shitty candy. Plus pizza but that came after. As far as bachelor parties that you’ve seen on Karkat's movies, this one is the best. It turned out he also invited some other people; Aradia and Nepeta, other two humans who submitted themselves to the whole age enhancing magic, who _also_ happened to be friends of Karkat. You invited Terezi and Rufioh. The one person he failed to inform you of their presences was one John Egbert. He seemed like a cool dude but he was just… Goofy? No, Jake English was goofy. He was just a-

“Huge nerd! I can’t believe you like the Ghostbusters!” Nepeta shouts while pointing at him like she just accused him of coping a feel.

“This is exactly why you are banned from sending invites for the next party, bro.” You pop open a can of coke.

“Nah, bro. She’ll get used to the lil’ fucker. He’s just kinda rough around the edges.” Gamzee says as he begins to fill his mouth with a box of Nerds.

“So Dave, how long have you known Karkitty?” Nepeta crawls over the back of the couch and you turn your head slowly to look at her. What the hell man, she’s laying on the edge of the couch without falling off!

“Uh, about five years give or take. I’ve only liked him for two.” 

“I thought you said you knew him for ten years!” Rufioh says over his shoulder. You frown at him.

“Bro, shut up. Cut a dude some slack.” He laughs and returns to his game, “Sure OK, ten years but it felt like five because ya know, I was running around the world a lot.” 

“That’s pawsitivly purrecious! It’s so romeowtic!” Nepeta flops over on your side and you sigh.

“Nothing romantic about it, it’s just really hard work. Karkat had expectations and well, I wasn’t exactly what you’d call prince charming. I was a goddamn demon running away from my clan trying to live off some shitty scams and smuggling magical items. Not exactly goddamn Cinderella Story, am I right?” Terezi pumps her fist in the air as an acknowledgement.

“But still! You purrsisted! That takes a lot of determination. Love will purrvail!” She sing-songs.

“Are you lame-o’s gonna sit around all day and retell the adventures of Karkat and Dave or are we gonna play some actual Mario Party?” Terezi jumps up from her place on the floor and puts her hands on her hips.

“Whoa, shit’s serious now, hand on hips means business! Best get this party started ladies and gents.” 

“That’s right cool kid, so get your ass off the couch and come get it kicked!” She grins. You get off the couch and sit next to Terezi, only mildly pissed that John takes a seat next to you. 

Gamzee decides to sprawl out in front of the television, controller slightly balanced on his stomach. 

You’re fighting Nepeta for the right to be Princess Peach when the door to Gamzee’s room slams open and Aradia, who is currently obscured by an obscene amount of pizza boxes and beer cans, walks in.

“I bought the stuff.” She says once Rufioh and John manage to take the boxes and beers out of her hands.

“Girl power, indeed.” You whistle noticing that the shit she was carrying must have weighed a shit-load.

“Mm-hm! You know it. Now, let’s get this party started. All of you are going down!” She snatches a controller and you get ready to kick back and win some goddamn stars.

oOo

At some point, your ridiculous brother and Sollux also arrived to steal food and wine.

Needless to say, you were all a little drunk.

Kankri, who after a while of enduring Roxy's excessive prodding, accepted her offer of getting a face mask. Sollux, in turn let Jade paint his toenails on the condition of getting a bee on his big toe. 

"Okay, okay! It's your turn, truth or dare?" Jade points at you and you consider your options. You still have make-up from your previous dare on your face so you pick the former.

"Truth. So hit me with your best shot~!" You sing-song making Kanaya and Roxy giggle. You should all stop drinking by now but honestly who gives a shit? 

The dares have been ridiculous but everyone has completed there own; Sollux is on the floor wearing shoes on his hands and Kankri has frosting on his face. Kanaya has a bunch of bows and pigtails, Roxy has six pink feather boas wrapped around her and Jade had a mustache drawn on her face.

"Truth? OK, something juicy..." Roxy rubbed her chin pensively.

"Something embarrassing!" Kankri slurred making Kanaya giggle.

"Alright, have you and Davey ever done the do?" She wiggled her fingers at you.

"The _what_?"

"Sexual intercourse. Vulgarly speaking: fucking." Kanaya offers.

Sollux and Jade snorted and cracked up on the floor. Kankri was blushing but giggling as well.

"You're all a bunch of immature kids, I swear!" You roll your eyes and cross your arms over your chest.

"You haven't answered the question Karkat!" Jade poked your side.

"Yeah KK, juth thpill the beanth."

"Uh I..." What was the point of lying? They all mostly knew, they just wanted you to confess it out loud.

"Just tell us." Kankri threw his hands up in the air and let them flop down on his side. Needless to say, your brother was drunk as balls.

"Fuck, OK! Yeah we have, it was great, are you happy?" 

"Woo-hoo, Vantas brothers for the win!" Kankri says with a deflated tone, he gives you a sorry excuse for a brofist which you return with mild irritation.  
Everyone laughed and made fun of you, but you were expecting that.

"My turn! Roxy, truth or dare?" Jade smiled.

"I'll take one for the team, truth." 

"Tell us something deep, something you never discuss and always avoid..." She taps her chin and then wiggles her finger at Roxy, "I dare you to talk about your love life." 

Everyone in the room perks up and chants "Ooo!" because everyone knows Roxy Lalonde, as a rule, _never_ talks about her love life. She can meddle in everyone’s else’s but don’t you fucking _dare_ meddle in hers. She says she was private. You call bullshit.

"Agh fuck, I knew this would come back and bite me in the ass." She slurs and decidedly lets herself fall onto the bed. “OK, but promise this doesn’t leave the room. You all gotta promise!”

You all promise, even though Sollux says “promith” and Jade just mutters a loud “pruh-mus.”

“Good, good. Well then, I have been pining over this guy, no names included,” you all groan but she continues, “He’s not the sort of guy you’d all think I like. He’s a little goof. So cute, tragically he likes someone else. I think. Probs, I don’t know.” 

“Have you asked anyone? Asked him as a friend?” Kanaya says.

“Mmm, nope. To afraid of the responsives, responses… Answer.”

“Thith thuddenly thook a thad turn.”

“Mhmm, I’ll say…” Jade quips, her voice heavy with sleep.

“We should figure this out tomorrow, when my head isn’t telling me to be quiet.” Kanaya says, laying back on the bed.

The voices quiet down until all you can hear is Kankri’s snores. You shuffle over to where Roxy was sitting and you bump her shoulder with yours.

“For what it’s worth, John doesn’t know what he’s missing.” 

“I never- Oh, blood hunter. Right.” She mumbles, giving you a weak smile.

“It’s alright, Lalonde. I don’t think he actually understands his own feelings. It gives me a headache watching him try to sort it out. He’s… confused. He doesn’t know if it’s friendship or actual love. Either way, whatever his decision, you’ll be fine.” You smile at her and you can see tears in the corner of her eyes.

“Ya know, you don’t sound as drunk as the rest of us when you talk-up a romantic storm like that.” She leans her head on your shoulder and you lean your head on top of hers.

“I can’t be drunk _and_ keep a tab on you assholes, now can I?”

She laughs before closing her eyes, mumbling a small thanks.

oOo 

“Truth time, Dave. Don’t you think it’s a bit too soon for you to be marrying Karkat?” John says while you place another pringle on Gamzee’s face.

Aradia and Nepeta are snoring in a corner, Aradia occasionally waking up to give Terezi pointers on her Mass Effect campaign. Gamzee sure has a lot of video games. Speaking of which, if he moves, your pringle tower will topple over and all your hard work would be wasted.

“Pass me another can, kid.” You tell John who huffs in annoyance but passes you the can anyway.

“I’m not a kid. I’m basically your age.” 

“Yeah well, I’ve been around the world and back, killed my fair share of creepy crawlers and mixed some tunes with the best of the best. I know people, I’ve been places. You? You’ve caught some baddies and pretended to be a hero. The way I see it, bucko, I’m much more experienced than you.” You’re aware that you sound like a pompous douche lord. Basically, you sound like Dirk but you can’t seem to care.

“Well now you’re just rubbing it in.” He crosses his arms and pouts.

“Dude, I can’t believe you’re pouting. Tz was right about you, you’re such a nerd.” 

“Yeah, she did say that, didn’t she?” He unfolds his arms and stares down at his hands. You turn to ask him for another can but see him wallowing in his self pity.

“Bro, come on. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. She says that to get your goose. Just play it cool.” 

“Get my goose? What kind of silly metaphor is that?”

“It’s not a metaphor it’s just something people- Y’know what? Forget it, the goose ain’t important. The important thing is this: no girl is out of your league. A girl who likes you, genuinely likes you, won’t care about you liking Sonic the Hedgehog. She’ll accept your shitty taste in video games. The whole deal, dude.” You finish constructing a tower of pringles and move on to making a tiny bridge.

“So what you’re saying is… I should keep trying?”

“Yeah man, go for it. Just know that if a girl doesn’t like you, you can force it.” You shrug.

“Oh… Thanks, Dave.” He smiles at you and you nod.

“Don’t mention it.”

“So, will you answer my question now?” He asks as he begins to stack pringles on Gamzee’s stomach.

“No, I don’t sparkle. No, I won’t carry you to McDonalds. Yes, pulling my feathers hurts like a bitch and for the last fucking time, I do _not_ have a scaled dick!” Your sudden outburst makes Gamzee grunt and shake his face, causing the pringles to fall. “Goddammit.”

“Heh, ew! No, that wasn’t my question, gross! I was just wondering if you don’t think this whole marriage thing with Karkat is happening too soon…” He eats one of the pringles from your newly formed stack. You can’t even be mad anymore.

“Yes and no, I guess.”

“How can it be yes _and_ no? That’s basically saying you don’t know!”

“Lemme give you the remix; Yes, it’s happening too soon because I’d honestly be fuckin’ over the moon to just spend time with him and take things slowly. Live a little. Do shit normal young adults do, like in the human movies. But we aren’t normal or human so we’re stuck facing these fuckin’ problems that blow up in our faces every waking second. Like damn, I just want a quiet afternoon, can I _not_ get attacked by shadowy chaos forms? And the world basically sends me an answer by sending more of these chaotic forms after me. Gimme a break, world!” You sigh and follow John by eating the stacks of pringles.

“That sounds really hard and tiring… So, why no?”

“No, because of all of the reasons above. I don’t want to die without knowing I didn’t give Karkat everything he wanted. The war is getting close, I feel it. Time is something I can command and control yet, it’s the only thing I don’t have to spare. Fucking ironic. The best irony for the time demon. Another fuck you from the world.”

“I see… You have a point, Dave. I guess we can’t afford to waste it thinking in the what if’s, am I right?” He holds up a chip and you hold up your own.

“To taking matters into your own hands and not wasting precious time.” You tell him.

“Here, here!” You both smash your chips together and laugh as Gamzee sneezes because of the chip dust.

Maybe John isn’t such a bother after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Is anyone excited for the wedding chapter? Because I sure am. It's going to be a to parter so get ready for that. It also might be two very long chapters so, sorry in advanced.
> 
> Comments, kudos, opinions or just anything are always got motives to keep going (:


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